What is Needed to Ensure Safe Drinking Water in Ontario’s Schools?

March 10, 2020

Lead in drinking water has been in the headlines for many months now, starting in early November. More recently, a February 27, 2020 Global News report entitled, “One in four Ontario schools and daycares found lead in tap water” highlighted how lead in drinking water continues to be a healthy and safety concern.

When parents send their children to school or daycare, they presume that the drinking water available to them is safe and free from any lead. That is clearly not the case in many instances. So, what needs to happen to change this reality?

Here are a few ideas:

There is currently no provincial policy mandating school boards to report lead exceedances to parents and students. As one school principal said in the Global News report cited above, “a clear ministry policy would help guide schools in what they should be communicating to parents and students”. Fix Our Schools believes that transparency about the state of our children’s schools is extremely important. Therefore, we urge the provincial government to institute a clear communication policy on drinking water safety in schools and daycares. In the spirit of transparency, we’ve also been routinely calling on the provincial government to update and release its disrepair data for all of Ontario’s publicly funded schools. 

There is currently no provincial funding that is provided to school boards to specifically address lead in drinking water. Given that most school boards face many urgent repairs every day such as leaking roofs, unless funding is provided to address lead in drinking water, the solution in many instances where exceedances are found may just be to cap off drinking water sources and place “handwashing only” signs on sinks in classrooms. Therefore, if we want safe drinking water to be available in schools and daycares, then adequate provincial funding must be provided to fix the root causes of lead in drinking water.

 

There is currently no standard of good repair for Ontario’s schools that would outline the metrics that could be used to measure whether a school is, indeed, in an acceptable state for children to spend their days. While our provincial government has been diligent in collecting disrepair data in schools, this data does not reflect lead in drinking water, asbestos issues, rodents and vermin, classroom temperatures, or portables to name but a few other elements that contribute towards students’ learning environments.

These solutions focus on what Ontario’s provincial government could do to ensure safe drinking water in provincial schools and daycares. However, we would be remiss if we did not mention that our Federal government is responsible for ensuring safe drinking water for First Nations School Infrastructure. Fix Our Schools urges our Federal government to take this responsibility seriously and to co-develop a comprehensive plan with First Nations to ensure safe drinking water is available in all First Nations schools.

 

 

Students Shocked by High Levels of Lead

March 5, 2020

In a Toronto Star article published on February 28, 2020 ,Ursula Franklin Academy students Emma Stuart-Kiss and Jack Wilson state, “we were shocked. (We) are very concerned with the lead levels in our school and the lack of transparency surrounding them”.  After reading a series of November 2019 Toronto Star Articles about lead in drinking water, the two students began investigating further.

Stuart-Kiss, the editor of the school newspaper at Ursula Franklin Academy, recently wrote an opinion piece for the newspaper stating, “through the deflection of blame and failure to surpass the low bar of Ministry regulations, it becomes apparent that without action and outcry, nothing will change. Apparently, safety and accountability are too much to ask for.”

 

 

Over the past three years, dozens of schools and daycares have logged dramatic lead spikes above 1,000 parts per billion (ppb), when Health Canada’s guideline states a maximum level of 5 ppb. Experts suggest that levels at this extremely high level can immediately impact blood lead levels in a child and cause harm in cognitive development. Despite Health Canada adopting a 5 ppb threshold, Ontario continues to use a 10 ppb threshold for lead in water.

Elevated Lead in Water Taps at Schools and Daycares

March 3, 2020

According to a Star Investigation cited in the February 28, 2020 article entitled, “A third of daycares, schools show elevated lead in water taps“, 36% of schools and daycares that tested for lead in the last three years had at least one exceedance of Health Canada’s guideline of 5 parts per billion (ppb). More than half of public schools that tested in the last three years registered at least one exceedance and, apparently, dozens of exceedances have been recorded at private schools such as Upper Canada College. It appears that no Ontario child is immune to the risk that they may ingest lead, a neurotoxin linked to negatively impacting cognitive development, while at their place of learning.

 

The February 28, 2020 Toronto Star article followed up on initial reports back in November, 2019 examing how much lead is in our drinking water.

Despite lead in drinking water being a very  serious health concern, there is no provincial policy that mandates school boards and schools to report lead exceedances to parents and students. When the Toronto Star recently contacted the Ministry of the Environment, Minister Jeff Yurek declined an interview. However, a written statement from the Ministry was sent to the newspaper saying, “the Province has provided $1.4-billion in funding in the 2018-19 school year to renew Ontario schools and ensure that major repair and replacement work can be undertaken, which could include replacement of plumbing systems and fixtures.” 

Fix Our Schools would like to point out that when school boards are facing a total of $16.3-billion of disrepair in their schools (which does not even include addressing issues such as lead in water, asbestos, classroom temperatures), $1.4-billion of provincial funding in a year does not go very far. In fact, given that our provincial government has been allocating $1.4-billion/year in funding for school repairs and renewal since June 2016 and total disrepair has increased during that time rather than decreased, it is safe to presume that $1.4-billion is not nearly sufficient to even take care of the disrepair that is included in the $16.3-billion school repair backlog.

For the provincial government to suggest that school boards have the choice of using the $1.4-billion to address lead in water is disingenuous and serves only to lay blame at the feet of school boards, when school boards rely exclusively on the provincial government to provide adequate and stable funding. We look to our provincial government to take responsibility, given that they are the level of government with responsibility over both funding and policy around lead in our children’s drinking water at school. With great power comes great responsibility, as we first wrote in 2015.

Fix Our Schools had hoped we’d moved beyond the unproductive dialogue of our provincial government blaming school boards for issues with school conditions. However, given the Ministry’s latest written response to the Toronto Star, it appears we have not. We urge both Environment Minister Yurek and Education Minister Lecce to take lead in drinking water very seriously and to take the steps needed to ensure not only proper communication about this issue but also to ensure adequate funding to school boards and municipalites to properly address the large infrastructure requirements needed to deal with lead in drinking water once and for all.

From Inside Queen’s Park

February 27, 2020

Representatives from almost 30 health, Indigenous, education, agriculture and tourism organizations went to Queen’s Park back in mid-January to share their asks of the provincial government’s upcoming budget. In the January 22, 2020 edition of “From Inside Queen’s Park”, the presentation that the Fix Our Schools Campaign made to the Standing Committee of Finance and Economic Affairs was summarized as follows:

“Fix Our Schools Krista Wylie, co-founder of the parent-led campaign that aims to get rid of the school repair backlog, said she wants to see the government double its current investments for fixing the province’s schools. Wylie said the government could eliminate the $16.3 billion repair backlog (NDP Leader Andrea Horwath mentioned the figure during question period in November) within seven or eight years if it invested an additional $1.6 billion each year for school infrastructure.

The PC government stated in its 2019 budget a plan to invest $13 billion over 10 years to build new schools and repair existing ones. This includes a $1.4 billion investment for the 2019-2020 school year for repairs. Wylie said the $1.4 billion “is simply not enough to make up for 20-plus years when provincial funding was so grossly inadequate.” She acknowledged that an additional $1.6 billion is a “huge investment,” but justified this by saying it was “financially irresponsible of this government to allow public assets to fall further into disrepair.” She also asked the government to create a “standard of good repair,” which would include issues like classroom temperature, asbestos, air quality and lead in drinking water, and publicly release annually updated school repair data.”

What Does the Ontario Human Rights Commission Say?

February 25, 2020

On the Ontario Human Rights Commission website, we find the following:

“Barriers to education can take a variety of forms. They can be physical, technological, systemic, financial, or attitudinal. They can arise from an education provider’s failure to make available a needed accommodation, or to provide one in a timely manner.

In Eldridge v. British Columbia (Attorney General), the Supreme Court of Canada found that “once the state does provide a benefit, it is obliged to do so in a non-discriminatory manner…. The principle that discrimination can accrue from a failure to take positive steps to ensure that disadvantaged groups benefit equally from services offered to the general public is widely accepted in the human rights field.”[22]

It is the Commission’s policy position that this comment, while made in the context of health care, applies equally to the provision of educational services. As the Commission’s Disability Policy states, “Governments have a positive duty to ensure that services available to the general public are also available to persons with disabilities.”[23]

In order for persons with disabilities to receive equal treatment in education, they must have equal access to educational opportunities. The duty to accommodate includes identifying and removing barriers that impede the ability of persons with disabilities to access educational services. The Commission’s Disability Policy affirms the duty of education providers to structure their programs and policies so as to be inclusive and accessible for persons with disabilities, and to take an active role in the accommodation process”

As Fix Our Schools has been stating repeatedly, the issue of equal accessibility is one that negatively impacts Ontario’s publicly funded schools, even when we consider only one aspect of accessibility – the ability for a student any mobility issues to get to their classroom, to the washroom, and participate fully in a rotary class schedule. We know that school boards are not provided with any special provincial funding to ensure that their school buildings are retrofitted to become accessible for children with mobility issues so no wonder Ontario’s school buildings are lagging behind where the provincial government pledged we would be by now. The answer is clear. More provincial funding is required if school boards are to have any hope of ensuring that “services available to the general public are also available to persons with disabilities.”

 

Lack of Accessibility in Ontario’s Schools

February 20, 2020

Ontario’s accessibility standards lag behind where our provincial government pledged we would be by now, as laid out in the 2005 Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). This lack of accessibility is an ongoing barrier for the 1.9+ million Ontarians who live with disabilities.

 

In a Globe & Mail article entitled, “Review of Ontario accessibility finds province is failing disabled citizens”, David Onley, former lieutenant governor of Ontario and a disability rights advocate, expresses concern about how slowly Ontario is moving when it comes to setting or enforcing accessibility standards. “Every day, in every community in Ontario, people with disabilities encounter formidable barriers to participation. For most disabled persons, Ontario is not a place of opportunity but one of countless, dispiriting, soul-crushing barriers.”

Nor surprisingly, the issue of accessibility is one that impacts Ontario’s publicly funded schools. Let’s consider only one aspect of accessibility for a moment – the ability for a student to get to their classroom and participate fully in a rotary class schedule. Elevators are a rarity in Ontario’s schools, making it challenging or impossible for students on crutches or in wheelchairs to attend school. When an Ontario school does have an elevator, maintenance for the elevator is ongoing and provincial funding for said maintenance is inadequate therefore often, elevators in a school are not working. Similarly, school boards are not provided with any special provincial funding to ensure that school buildings are retrofitted to become accessible for children with mobility issues.

 

My daughter needed crutches to get around for 8 months in her grade 8 year. I still marvel at the physical and emotional strength needed for her to participate in school that year. Clearly, many aspects of a full school experience were off the table for her that year as she focused on the bare minimum of getting to each class on her rotary schedule in a 3-story building with no elevator. She was physically and emotionally exhausted most days as she routinely met with the “dispiriting, soul-crushing barriers” that David Onley mentioned in the Globe & Mail article cited above. Ontario can and must do better. We owe it to all Ontarians with disabilities, including students.

What is Missing from the $16.3-billion Repair Backlog in Ontario’s Schools?

February 18, 2020

We learned in November 2019 that the total repair backlog in Ontario’s publicly funded schools had increased from $15.9-billion in October 2017 (the last time our provincial government publicly released disrepair data) to an unbelievable $16.3-billion, proving that the current provincial funding approach for school infrastructure is simply insufficient. 

This is an unfathomably large number and reflects assessments made by a third-party engineering firm hired by the provincial government about what building components in each school need to be repaired or replaced in the coming five years. Items such as roofs, structural columns, windows, fire alarm and suppression systems, bricks, and boilers would all be reflected in this $16.3-billion repair backlog.

However, what is missing from this $16.3-billion repair backlog?

  • Work that needs to be done on schools to make them accessible for all students. Let’s consider only one aspect of accessibility for a moment – the ability for a student to get to their classroom and participate fully in a rotary class schedule. Elevators are a rarity in Ontario’s schools, so it is challenging or impossible for students on crutches or in wheelchairs to attend school.

For years now, Fix Our Schools has been asking the provincial government  to develop and implement a standard of good repair for our schools that considers all of the above “missing items. This standard would serve as a yardstick by which we could ensure that school buildings in this province are all safe, healthy, well-maintained buildings that provide dignified environments for all children to learn. We believe that all Ontarians would agree that the missing items listed above are all important elements for buildings where 2-million Ontario children spend their days. So far, our call to action for a standard of good repair has been ignored so our work continues to focus on this need.

 

When School Repairs are Reactive Instead of Proactive

February 13, 2020

For years, Fix Our Schools has advocated for sufficient, stable provincial funding to eliminate the $16.3-billion repair backlog in schools across the province and to ensure that all school buildings are safe, healthy and well-maintained. We know there are negative consequences to students, teachers and education workers when a school is in poor  condition.

 

Fix Our Schools also advocates for stable, adequate provincial funding for school repairs and renewal because right now, a large percentage of repairs in schools are done reactively instead of proactively through routine maintenance. Reactive repairs are far less efficient than proactive maintenance, often costing around 30% more. Reactive repairs can also create havoc in schools and can negatively impact student learning.

For instance, one Ontario school recently experienced an elevator breakdown that was going to take some time to repair. With many students in that school population who use wheelchairs and walkers, one can imagine the challenges faced by students, teachers, education workers and administration as they worked to ensure that learning could continue.  Across the province, school roofs are routinely repaired reactively, once leaking has already started to occur. Again, one can imagine the unnecessary chaos and disruption caused by this approach to maintenance, that has become commonplace in many school boards because provincial funding for school repairs and renewal has been so grossly inadequate for so long.

 

Fix Our Schools believes it is fiscally and morally responsible to fix Ontario’s schools in a timely manner and in a proactive manner. With this in mind, we sincerely hope that the Ford government will take into consideration our input to the next provincial budget and allocate an additional $1.6-billion/year to school infrastructure.

How are these New School Buildings Progressing?

February 11, 2020

Two years ago, the Liberal provincial government in power announced that they were investing $784 million to help build 39 new schools across the province, and renovate or expand another 40 school buildings. These important projects were expected to not only serve elementary and high school students across Ontario but also to provide more than 2,700 new licensed child care spaces to support the growing needs of Ontario families.

Fix Our Schools wants to hear from you and your communities about how each of these approved projects is progressing? Please email us at info@fixourschools.ca or engage with us on social media to let us know!  We have heard that the people of Stoney Creek are frustrated about delays in Collegiate Avenue Elementary Schools approved renovations and addition.

 

To date, since the Ford government was elected in June 2018, Fix Our Schools is not aware of a single new school build that has been approved by this provincial government, which is disappointing, given how critical new school buildings are to addressing disrepair in schools and also to accommodating growth of student populations in many communities. What we are noticing is that Education Minister Lecce is re-announcing new school building projects that were actually approved by the previous Liberal government. If we are wrong and you’ve heard about a new school building or addition having been approved by the Ford government, please let us know about that too!

The new projects that were announced as approved by the Liberal government in January 2018 are as follows.

LOCATION

SCHOOL BOARD

PROJECT NAME

PROJECT TYPE

Ajax

Durham DSB

Unnamed Elementary School – Ajax North

New school with one EarlyON room

Alliston

Simcoe Muskoka Catholic DSB

Unnamed Catholic Elementary School

New school with 49 child care spaces

Almonte

Catholic DSB of Eastern Ontario

Holy Name of Mary Catholic School

Addition with 63 new child care spaces

Ancaster

Hamilton-Wentworth DSB

Ancaster Senior Public School

Addition

Ancaster

Hamilton-Wentworth DSB

C.H. Bray Public School

New school

Atikokan

Rainy River DSB

Atikokan High School

Addition with 49 new child care spaces and one new EarlyON room

Beaverton

Durham DSB

Beaverton Public School

New school with 49 child care spaces and one EarlyON room

Belleville

Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic DSB

St. Joseph Catholic School

Addition

Belleville

Hastings and Prince Edward DSB

Moira Secondary School

Addition

Belleville

Hastings and Prince Edward DSB

Queen Elizabeth Public School

New school

Blind River

Algoma DSB

Unnamed JK-12 School

New school with 64 child care spaces and two EarlyON rooms

Bradford

Simcoe County DSB

Unnamed Elementary School – Bradford North

New school with 39 child care spaces

Brampton

Dufferin Peel Catholic DSB

Holy Name of Mary Catholic Secondary School

Addition

Brampton

Peel DSB

Unnamed Elementary School – Vales of Humber

New school with 73 child care spaces and one EarlyON room

Burlington

Halton DSB

Nelson High School

Addition

Burlington

Halton DSB

M.M. Robinson High School

Addition

Caledon

Dufferin Peel Catholic DSB

St. Cornelius Elementary School

Addition

Cambridge

CSC MonAvenir

École secondaire catholique Père-René-de-Galinée

Addition

Chatham

Lambton Kent DSB

Tecumseh Public School

Renovation

Cornwall

Catholic DSB of Eastern Ontario

St. Joseph Catholic Secondary School

Renovation

Etobicoke

Toronto Catholic DSB

Holy Angels Catholic School

New school with 88 child care spaces

Etobicoke

Toronto DSB

Kipling Collegiate Institute

Renovation with 88 new child care spaces

Forest

Lambton Kent DSB

Unnamed JK-12 School

New school with 24 child care spaces and two EarlyON rooms

Gloucester

CSD catholique du Centre-Est de l’Ontario

Unnamed Catholic Elementary School – Riverside South

New school with 49 child care spaces

Guelph

Upper Grand DSB

Unnamed Secondary School – Guelph South

New school

Hamilton

Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic DSB

St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School

New school with two EarlyON rooms

Hawkesbury

CSD des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario

École élémentaire publique Nouvel Horizon

Addition with 15 new child care spaces

Hearst

CSD du Nord-Est de l’Ontario

École publique Passeport Jeunesse

Purchase of new school facility

Kincardine

Bruce-Grey Catholic DSB

St. Anthony Catholic Elementary School

Addition with 78 new child care spaces

Kingston

Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic DSB

Unnamed Catholic Elementary School – Kingston West

New school with 73 child care spaces and three EarlyON rooms

Kingston

CSD catholique du Centre-Est de l’Ontario

École secondaire catholique Marie-Rivier

New school with 49 child care spaces

Kingston

CSD des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario

École secondaire publique Mille-Îles

New school

Kitchener

Waterloo Region DSB

Unnamed Elementary School – Huron South

New school with 88 child care spaces and three EarlyON rooms

Leamington

Greater Essex County DSB

Queen Elizabeth Public School

Addition with 73 new child care spaces and two EarlyON rooms

Listowel

Huron-Perth Catholic DSB

St. Mary’s Catholic School

Addition with 64 new child care spaces and one EarlyON room

London

London District Catholic School Board

Unnamed Catholic Elementary School

New school

London

London District Catholic School Board

St. Bernadette Catholic School

Addition

London

Thames Valley DSB

Unnamed Elementary School – Southeast London

New school with 88 child care spaces

London

Thames Valley DSB

Masonville Public School

Addition

London

Thames Valley DSB

Tweedsmuir Public School

Addition

Madoc

Hastings and Prince Edward DSB

Centre Hastings Secondary School

Addition

Markdale

Bluewater DSB

Beavercrest Public School

New school with 39 child care spaces and two EarlyON rooms

Markham

York Catholic DSB

St. Francis Xavier Catholic Elementary School

Renovation

Markham

York Region DSB

Unnamed Elementary School – Cornell

New school with 39 child care spaces

Milton

Halton Catholic DSB

Bishop P.F. Reding Catholic Secondary School

Addition with 64 new child care spaces

Milton

Halton DSB

Unnamed Elementary School

New school with 88 child care spaces

Mississauga

Peel DSB

Unnamed Elementary School – City Centre

New school with 73 child care spaces and one EarlyON room

Nepean

Ottawa Catholic DSB

St. Joseph High School

Addition

Niagara Falls

DSB of Niagara

Forestview Public School

Addition with 49 new child care spaces

North Bay

Near North DSB

Fricker Public School

New school with 73 child care spaces and one EarlyON room

North Grenville

Upper Canada DSB

North Grenville PS

Addition

North York

Toronto Catholic DSB

St. Matthias Public School

New school with 88 child care spaces

North York

Toronto Catholic DSB

St. Margaret Catholic School

Addition to create 49 new child care spaces

North York

Toronto DSB

Sir Sandford Fleming Public School

Renovation with 88 new child care spaces

North York

Toronto DSB

Hollywood Public School

Addition with 64 new child care spaces

Oakville

CSC MonAvenir

École secondaire catholique Sainte-Trinité

Addition

Oakville

Halton Catholic DSB

St. Michael Catholic Elementary School

Addition with 49 new child care spaces

Oakville

Halton DSB

Unnamed Elementary School – Oakville Northeast

New school with 88 child care spaces

Omemee

Trillium Lakelands DSB

Scott Young Public School

Addition with 49 new child care spaces and one EarlyON room

Orillia

Simcoe Muskoka Catholic DSB

Notre Dame Catholic School

Addition

Oro-Medonte

Simcoe County DSB

Unnamed Elementary School

New school with one EarlyON room

Ottawa

Ottawa-Carleton DSB

Elmdale Public School

Addition

Renfrew

Renfrew County Catholic DSB

St. Joseph High School

Addition with 73 new child care spaces and one EarlyON room

Sarnia

St. Clair Catholic DSB

Sacred Heart Catholic School

New school with 88 child care spaces

Stittsville

Ottawa-Carleton DSB

Unnamed Secondary School

New school

Stoney Creek

Hamilton-Wentworth DSB

Mount Albion Public School

Addition with 49 new child care spaces

Thorold

DSB of Niagara

Richmond Street Public School

Addition

Thorold

Niagara Catholic DSB

Monsignor Clancy Catholic School

Addition with 49 new child care spaces

Toronto

Conseil scolaire Viamonde

Unnamed Secondary School – Toronto East

New school

Toronto

Toronto DSB

Unnamed JK-12  School (more details to follow)

New project with 64 new child care spaces and one EarlyON room

Troy

Hamilton-Wentworth DSB

Beverly Central Community Centre Public School

Addition

Vaughan

CSC MonAvenir

Unnamed Catholic Secondary School Vaughan

New school

Vaughan

York Region DSB

Unnamed Elementary School – Maple

New school with 39 child care spaces

Wasaga Beach

Simcoe County DSB

Wasaga Beach Public School

New school with three EarlyON rooms

Whitby

Durham Catholic DSB

St. Marguerite D’Youville Catholic School

New school with 24 child care spaces and one EarlyON room

Whitby

Durham DSB

Unnamed Elementary  School

New school with 73 child care spaces and one EarlyON room

Windsor

Greater Essex County DSB

Unnamed Elementary School

New school with 73 child care spaces

York

Toronto DSB

Dennis Avenue Community School

New school with 88 child care spaces

York

Toronto DSB

George Syme Community School

Addition with 88 new child care spaces

Toronto Sees Impact of Provincial Neglect

February 7, 2020

22 years of chronic and gross provincial underfunding of school buildings is taking its toll.

CBC recently highlighted that the following 14 schools within the Toronto District School Board would actually be cheaper to rebuild than to repair:

1) Etobicoke Year Round Alternative Centre in MPP Hogarth’s riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore

2) Oakdale Park Middle School in MPP Rakocevic’s riding of Humber River-Black Creek

 

3) Amesbury Middle School in MPP Hassan’s riding of York South-Weston

4) Winona Drive Senior Public School in MPP Andrew’s riding of Toronto-St. Paul’s

5) Charles G. Fraser Junior School in MPP Glover’s riding of Spadina-Fort York

6) Ryerson Community School in MPP Glover’s riding of Spadina-Fort York

7) Montrose Junior Public School in MPP Bell’s riding of University-Rosedale

8) Winchester Junior and Senior Public School in MPP Morrison’s riding of Toronto-Centre

9) Blythwood Junior Public School in MPP Wynne’s riding of Don Valley West

10) Eastdale Collegiate Institute in MPP Tabuns’ riding of Toronto Danforth

11) Glen Ames Senior Public School in MPP Berns-McGown riding of Beaches-East York

12) Secord Public School in MPP Berns-McGown riding of Beaches-East York

13) Vradenburg Junior Public School in MPP Babikian’s riding of Scarborough-Agincourt

14) Timberbank Junior Public School in MPP Babikian’s riding of Scarborough-Agincourt

Fix Our Schools believes that all Ontario children deserve to attend school in a safe, healthy, and well-maintained building. We encourage Toronto parents in these communities to contact their local MPP as well as Education Minister Stephen Lecce (stephen.lecce@pc.ola.org)and Premier Ford (use both his constituency email: Doug.fordco@pc.ola.org AND his premier email: premier@ontario.ca) to let them know the state of these schools is unacceptable and that you expect adequate and stable funding to be provided to school boards to be able to ensure all their schools are, indeed, safe, healthy and well-maintained buildings.