Portables: Just One Reason Why Ontario Needs a Standard of Good Repair for Schools

October 17, 2019

Leading up to the last provincial election in June 2018, Fix Our Schools advocated for a Standard of Good Repair to be developed, implemented and funded by this provincial government. We were successful in obtaining the commitment of 58 elected MPPs to this concept and we continue to advocate for this idea to be realized.  You see, important aspects of our children’s learning environments are not reflected in the $15.9-billion of disrepair that has been assessed as required in Ontario’s schools. The following aspects are excluded:

  • Quality of drinking water due to old lead pipes
  • Quality of air due to asbestos in old school buildings and dampness/mold
  • Classroom temperatures, which are often too hot to learn in the spring and fall; and too cold to learn in the winter months
  • Conditions of portables, which are intended to be temporary facilities but often end up being on-site at a school for many, many years

 

We strongly believe the conditions of school portables ought to be assessed, and frequently hear from parents, students, and teachers about portables that are in a horrible state of disrepair.

 

If your child learns in a portable; or you teach in a portable, we’d love to hear from you about the learning/working conditions.