The school district has been forced to pay $23,000 for the carbon emissions it released in 2010, as part of the provincial government's efforts to become carbon neutral.This is the first year the school district has been required to pay for its carbon emissions, said secretary-treasurer Ken Campbell. All school districts in BC are taking part in the program. The $23,000 payment reflects the amount of carbon emissions created by the district, mainly by heating and lighting its school buildings. With the latest enrollment count of 644 full-time students, it works out to just under $36 per student.The money has to be taken out of the district's regular budget, which would otherwise be used on services for students.At the March 29 school board meeting, trustee Christine Martynuik said the district would have liked to install more efficient heating systems in its latest buildings, but the Ministry of Education didn't offer any money for things like that."Isn't it interesting," she said. "The ministry, for the last two schools, wouldn't consider any heating that was green, and now they make us pay for it."