All 72 Ontario school boards currently have a repair backlog, ranging from $7.4-million at Huron-Perth CDSB to $3.3-billion at the TDSB. On a per-student basis, the TDSB’s repair backlog breaks down to over $13,000/student. Ottawa-Carleton DSB, Thames Valley DSB and Greater Essex County DSB aren’t far behind with a repair backlog per-student of approximately $10,000 in each of these three Ontario school boards.
Issued in October 2014, “Reversing the Cycle of Deterioration in the Nation’s Public School Buildings” is a report on the impact of deferred maintenance in American public school buildings. It reveals that, as of 2010, the average repair backlog per-student in American schools was $4,883 and that this reflected a situation in need of serious and immediate attention.
We’ve cited 4 school boards in Ontario that currently face a per student repair backlog more than double the American average. Kathleen Wynne – are you there? Your government must acknowledge this situation is unacceptable and untenable. Finding funding solutions to fix our schools deserves a place on your government’s agenda!