If you’ve already contacted your local MPP candidates, hurrah! Thank you! You can continue to make an impact by spreading the word. Here is some verbiage you could use in reaching out to your networks, either by email or social media! Thank you!
Fix Our Schools is a parent-led, non-partisan, Ontario-wide campaign that began 4 years ago and is working to ensure that all Ontario’s schools are safe, healthy, well-maintained buildings that provide environments conducive to learning and working.
I’m writing to ask you to please take a few minutes and read the information on their web page: http://fixourschools.ca/advocacy-101/. Then please take at least some of the actions outlined in the weeks leading up to the June 7th provincial election to ensure that all of your local MPP candidates sign the Fix Our Schools Pledge.
Fix Our Schools is a highly organized and effective campaign, and have launched the Fix Our Schools Pledge Initiative as an easy way for people to help ensure that publicly funded schools and education are a priority issue in the June 7th provincial election. The goal of the Fix Our Schools Pledge Initiative is to have all MPP candidates in Ontario sign the Fix Our Schools Pledge.
If every party’s candidate in every riding in Ontario signs this pledge, then no matter what the outcome of the June 7th provincial election, our next provincial government will have committed to Fix Ontario’s Schools. We can then hold our provincial government accountable to that commitment for the next four years. In Ontario, our provincial government holds the power over all education and school funding so it is critical they know Ontario’s citizens want them to prioritize publicly funded schools and education.
We have power when we all do a little something to send a collective message. So I’m going to ask you again to please visit the Fix Our Schools website: http://fixourschools.ca/advocacy-101/ and take action! Fix Our Schools has done a lot of legwork to make this as easy as possible for busy people to take action – so just do it! Please!
As some additional background, Fix Our Schools has been instrumental in the following successes over the past 4 years and is counting on you to continue this success to Fix Our Schools!:
- Increasing provincial funding for school repairs from $150-million/year in 2014 to $1.4-billion/year today. Industry standards and Ontario’s Auditor-General suggest that $1.4-billion/year for school repairs is the amount that always ought to have been allocated to keep Ontario’s schools in a state of good repair. However, for most years over the past two decades, provincial funding for school repairs has only been one-tenth (or less!) of the $1.4-billion minimum yearly amount needed to simply KEEP schools in a state of good repair.
- Increasing transparency about disrepair in Ontario’s schools. The Ministry of Education now publishes disrepair data on a school by school basis each year so parents can readily access and track this information.
Let me know if you have any questions. And thanks for your anticipated support on taking action in the coming week to ensure all your local MPP candidates sign the Fix Our Schools Pledge!