As students across Ontario prepare to head back to school this week, comfortable temperatures with daytime highs around 20 degrees are in the forecast for the first September in many years. This weather forecast will mean students, teachers and education workers will be learning and working in fairly comfortable temperatures for the first time in many years! Hurrah!
The vast majority of publicly funded schools across our province do not have air conditioning and the sweltering September temperatures of the past several years has meant unbearably hot class temperatures for many across the province. What a relief that this September, students, teachers and education workers alike can learn and work in comfort!
However, even with all the repairs and improvements that have been able to get done this past year at Ontario public schools thanks to stable provincial funding of $1.4-billion/year, the repair backlog at Ontario’s schools remains at a gobsmacking $15.9-billion. Photos of school disrepair vividly depict the types of environments Ontario students routinely face.
And, if we only look at Premier Ford’s riding of Etobicoke North, there is an alarming $178.4-million of disrepair in schools. This disrepair in Etobicoke North schools impacts students in myriad ways. At West Humber Collegiate, which needs $13.9-million of repairs, urgent items include:
- Fire Alarm System renewal
- Major Repair to Standard Foundations
- Roofing
At Elmbank Junior Middle School, which needs $9.4-million of repairs, there are 21 repair items marked urgent!
More provincial funding is needed if we are ever going to eliminate the repair backlog in our children’s schools. In fact, economist Hugh Mackenzie suggests an additional $1.6-billion/year in provincial funding is required for the coming seven years if we are going to truly fix Ontario’s schools.