$16.8-B of disrepair: photos

Over the past few years countless people have shared photos, comments and their concerns about the state of Ontario schools. They have emailed us and posted on FaceBook and Twitter.

Please join them in letting us know what your concerns are at info@fixourschools.ca, or post on our FaceBook page, our Twitter page. Please note we are always happy to keep schools anonymous, recognizing there may be concerns. And certainly, Fix Our Schools always keeps YOU anonymous if that is your wish.

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The photo to the left was submitted in November, 2021 by a music teacher in Ontario.

 

The following 5 photos were submitted in November, 2021, by a teacher at a Toronto high school, with the sentiments, “we see how repairs that go intended for many years turn into major problems. I think people will be really surprised by the state of this place.  What was once considered a “jewel” amongst schools, this building has been grossly neglected over the years. It is really hard to focus on teaching and supporting our students when our facilities are falling apart.  We can only do our best with the tools we are given, and our tools are broken.”

The subsequent photos have been submitted by parents, teachers, and education workers at various times to demonstrate what $16.8-B of disrepair actually LOOKS LIKE.

picture of crumbling ceiling in classroom

received June 14, 2018

Classroom w/ceiling tiles on floor Classroom w/water on floor classroom w/crumbled ceiling tiles on floor & water classroom w/crumbled ceiling tiles on floor classroom w/missing ceiling tiles classroom w/water leaking on floor classroom w/missing ceiling tiles

 

 

 

classroom w/missing ceiling tiles

entrance to school portable

decaying door frame Ontario school broken screen in Ontario school portable

I am always impressed at how clean this high school is when I attend an event. The floors are gleaming, and there are caretakers everywhere working hard. I know from talking to students that repair needs are quickly identified and communicated. But I can only imagine how hard it is to get a school clean when all the surfaces are ancient, and have not been replaced/repaired in decades. As with EVERY other school I visit in Toronto there are no treads on the stairs… they have long worn off. The staircases are slippery and unsafe. They are becoming uneven as well. All I can think of in this school is poor air quality… flacking paint, floor finishes, chipped ceilings.. all the students and staff are breathing this 6+ hours a day. ~the following 5 pictures were taken by a parent at an Ontario high school

damaged floor tiledamaged stairs 1damaged stairs 2damaged radiator
damaged locker

photo of moldy ceiling ceiling tile falling down ceiling damage faulty pipes falulty pipes

“The lack of funding for maintenance and infrastructure repair creates cascading problems. When we have to close down part of an aging building because we don’t have the funds to maintain or repair it, students get squeezed, and the learning environment suffers. When maintenance and infrastructure budgets are stripped of funds to pay for other vital but underfunded programs – like mandated small class sizes or full-day kindergarten – kids suffer. We know very well that the physical infrastructure of schools contributes to the learning environment of the child.”
Head Custodian with Kawartha Ridge District School Board

I took some pictures today after my Saturday morning Learn-for-life class. The bathrooms only had cold water running and there were some rust stains around the school. (this statement addresses the next 12 pictures.

 moldy speaker case rusty faucet cover in bathroom sink rusty, leaking toilet tank rickety rusty hand railing 2nd broken lock on bathroom stall broken lock on bathroom stall rusty railing sink with only one tap rusty handle

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moldy ceiling dead rat

corner of wall bottom of wall

windowsbroken windowwindow well

I work in a kindergarten class, which is a new build with many new south-facing windows. The picture here was taken on day 3 of the September 2017 heat wave when I had finally had enough of three to five year olds suffering (the temperature was the lowest on this day).

We actually had to relocate the students to a cooler class (not air-conditioned) at lunch where 55 children had to eat lunch in one classroom just to be comfortable enough to eat their lunch. One child became so overheated that she had a terrible nosebleed that was difficult to stop because her temperature was so high.

Given the recent climate changes over the past few years that regularly sees parents dropping off ineffective fans for their children’s comfort, I would like you to consider increasing funding to deal specifically with the climate control in schools without air conditioning.

No person can possibly learn anything or function at a reasonable level at 34 degrees celsius. We simply must ensure that adequate funding exists for each classroom to maintain temperatures conducive to learning. 

Thank you very much for your consideration of this request. ~blog post-55 children eating in one classroom

railing from which a child fell & broke her wrist

even older boiler old boiler washroom stall with no door crumbling wood door frameunsafe walkway bucket w/caution sign

water stained ceiling tiles crumbling concrete overhang ceiling tiles w/water damage salt stained bricks

corroded door frame

 

damaged window in school

OMG. Humberside had to keep their windows closed and any air ventilation off during this stifling heat wave because they were FINALLY fixing the roof. I was there for curriculum night and thought I was going to pass out from the heat. How are kids supposed to focus and learn?? It’s inhuman. Something has to change.

leaking ceiling

I refuse to send my children (1 having asthma) When there is an extreme hot weather alert for the whole city. A child in my friends daughter’s class fainted Yestetday!!
I usually only work weekends so I’m lucky I can keep the kids home….but what about those parents that have no choice but to go to work….those children have no choice but to go into those terrible conditions. We as parents have to take a stand. The heat wave breaks tonight…but what happens in may/June?
FB 27 September at 13:40

 damaged celing tile

On Monday it was 30 degrees in my classroom at 8:00 am. 41 degrees (yep) at 5:00 pm.
FB 27 September at 16:52

Well make sure they order blinds BEFORE installation time as our school got new windows but most (if not all) had no blinds installed at the start of school til last week and you can imagine how much the room temp is with the sun beaming in as well. My kids are coming home sapped of energy stating they can’t concentrate at school, that many rooms are stifling and they feel unwell. One day last week they were taken outside to do their schoolwork bc the room was so hot. The main office and staff room which is beside classrooms on the upper floor of the school and library (main floor) are the only places in the entire school of 1200 kids that has AC. This issue comes up every year for a few weeks in Sept and June and people complain but nothing ever changes, what can we do to make change happen Fix Our Schools? I feel like its a “hot potato” that never drops. We need change, for the sake of the staff and kids at all schools faced with this.
FB 25 September at 14:30

Swansea PS called yesterday morning at 10 am to tell me my son was sick and I should come and get him. Headache was the main issue. When I got there, the school was at least 20 degrees warmer inside than outside. It was like a sauna. The classroom windows could only be opened a crack and there was one small desk fan for the teacher (who was away yesterday and being replaced by a supply teacher). There is no way anyone should have to spend a minute in heat like that, let alone an entire day. It really was terrible for the kids and teachers. My son recovered quickly once I got him home and cooled him down.
When I was a kid, on those rare days (back then) of intense heat, the teachers would take us outside and hold classes under a tree. Is there some regulation preventing that now?Anyway, something has to be done about this problem! We are now heaving intense periods of heat in May, June and September on a regular basis and the older schools are not built for it.
FB 23 September at 14:20 

My daughter is in a very hot classroom on the third floor of a 100+ year old school. The class is south facing and 33 kids in the class. She can’t concentrate and has had headaches the last 3 days. She says no one in the class is able to concentrate, let alone learn anything. The situation is unacceptable!
FB 23 September at 08:52 

We still have horrible old carpet (on its way out but fairly gradually) and non opening windows (‘windows’- they look a bit like those slits in forts to shoot through, and the entire building looks more like a prison than a school no matter the attempted facelifts). We aren’t supposed to be able to fundraise for windows but I am curious how or why the board deemed them necessary in your school. We were told they also can’t be replaced one by one-just as one large job…
FB 23 September at 10:11

Ours don’t open. When the ac is off you can’t breathe sometimes.
FB 23 Septembr at 09:03 

In my school this week, the discomfort of the intense heat has been magnified by the fact that they are roofing. We are enduring the smell of melting asphalt, the noise of industrial fans, and our windows have been lined with plastic and taped shut.
FB 23 September at 14:48

photo of thermastat

thermostat

 

 

 

 

 

“This is the thermostat from my portable today, Monday. It says 88°. This is base temp, and doesn’t include humidity. 94° w/humidity.” Twitter Sept. 25, 2017

“mine was 36 degrees” response