$41-M from Feds Brings Total Funding to $1.44-B for Fixing Ontario’s Schools

July 25, 2019

Ontario has agreed to a federal plan to allocate approximately $41-million for energy-efficient retrofits to Ontario’s elementary and secondary schools. According to the technical paper detailing Ontario’s most recent budget for 2019-20, our provincial government has committed $1.4-billion in funding for school renewal and repairs as per the following allocations:

School Renewal Allocation (SRA), which addresses the costs of repairing and renovating schools, is projected to be $363.3-million
An additional $40-million to the SRA Allocation for expenditures that are capital in nature
School Condition Improvement (SCI) to help school boards address the identified renewal backlog from the data collected via the Ministry’s Condition Assessment Program, is going to be $1-billion

So Fix Our Schools is excited that, with the expected additional $40-million from the federal Climate Action Incentive Fund, total funding for school repair and renewal for Ontario’s publicly funded schools will be $1.44-billion for 2019-20. Every little bit of funding can make a big difference for our local schools!

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna poses for a photo during a Climate LeadersÕ Summit in Chelsea, Que., on Thursday, May 17, 2018. iPolitics/Matthew Usherwood

Interested in more details on the Climate Action Incentive Fund?

On June 25, 2019, Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, announced a new proposed climate action program to support energy-efficient retrofits for schools in the four provinces that don’t have an emissions-based levy that is on par with the federal government’s. In Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick, the federal carbon tax was put into action at the start of 2019. All revenues collected by the federal government as part of this carbon tax must be returned to the province from which the money is collected:

90% of collected carbon tax monies will be directly returned to consumers via an offsetting tax rebate
10% of collected carbon tax monies will be dedicated to helping municipalities, hospitals, universities, schools and small-medium sized businesses become more energy-efficient.

For this coming year, the federal government decided that 3% of carbon tax monies collected (an estimated $60-million) would go to Ontario, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Manitoba for energy-efficient retrofits in public schools. For instance, replacing old windows that result in a lot of drafts in classrooms. Ontario’s share of the $60-million would be $41-million.

The Government of Canada will work closely with provinces to deliver funding to schools. Schools and school boards interested in participating in the proposed program are encouraged to contact their provincial governments for more details on how to apply.

Finally! Provincial Process Resumes for Building New Schools and Additions

July 23, 2019

On July 22, 2019, Ontario’s Ministry of Education released news of a “Major Investment that will Renew Ontario Schools and Strengthen Student Learning“. Fix Our Schools is thrilled to hear Education Minister Stephen Lecce’s comment that, “We are investing in our students and their futures by building new schools and renovating existing schools because I believe better schools mean better learning environments for the next generation.” Fix Our Schools is also happy to hear that “this government is taking decisive action to ensure students have safe and modern learning environments that enable their success in the classroom, in life, and in the labour market” added Lecce.
However, we are confused about why it has taken the Ministry of Education over a year to simply resume the annual process of approving new school builds and additions in this province. Prior to the election of the Doug Ford government in June 2018, Ontario school boards were approached each summer by the Province to submit their top 10 school-based capital priorities for funding consideration. The Ministry of Education would then review these submissions and announce successful projects annually.

For the past 13 months – this annual process has been on hold. So, while Fix Our Schools is relieved to see this process finally being resumed, we are also very concerned about the fact that, in essence, Ontario students, teachers and education workers have lost over a year where no new school builds were approved.

Fix Our Schools is also very concerned about the Quick Facts section of this July 22, 2019 provincial announcement referencing an investment of $13-billion over 10 years for building new schools and helping repair and renew existing schools.

You see, provincial funding for only repairing and renewing schools currently sits at $1.4-billion/year so using some quick math – this $13-billion over 10 years – even if this $13-billion is only for school repairs and renewal – would be an annual cut of $100-million/year to the $1.4-billion in provincial funding for school repairs and renewal today. However, if this $13-billion investment over 10 years is meant to fund both school repairs and renewal and new school buildings in this province, then this $13-billion investment over 10 years actually represents a massive cut to provincial funding for school infrastructure in this province.

MPP Oosterhoff: $75.4-million of Disrepair in Niagara West Schools

July 16, 2019

Dear MPP Oosterhoff,

Did you know there is $75.4-million of disrepair in the publicly funded schools in your riding of Niagara West? We wanted to share the following details of disrepair in each school in your riding in the hope that this detailed information would underscore the importance of developing standards of good repair for Ontario schools and also the importance of providing the adequate, stable provincial funding to school boards required for them to meet those new standards and eliminate the $15.9-billion repair backlog that plagues Ontario’s schools:

Total disrepair in each publicly funded school in Niagara West Riding:

A K Wigg PS	$ 3,719,322
Beamsville District SS	$ 9,145,939
Caistor Central PS	$ 2,438,765
Central PS	$ 2,044,619
College Street PS	$ 2,969,089
E L Crossley SS	$ 7,386,470
Gainsborough PS	$ 1,778,535
Glynn A Green PS	$ 5,100,093
Grand Avenue PS	$ 167,629
Grimsby SS	$ 12,938,474
Jacob Beam PS	$ 623,718
Lakeview PS	$ 1,018,134
Nelles PS	$ 89,610
Park PS	$ 38,644
Pelham Centre PS	$ 1,797,287
Senator Gibson PS	$ 46,350
Smith PS	$ 535,806
South Lincoln HS	$ 4,559,688
William E Brown PS	$ 2,278,359
Winger PS	$ 1,625,711
Blessed Trinity Catholic SS	$ 621,605
St Alexander Catholic E S	$ 3,006,055
St Ann Catholic E S (f)	$ 889,846
St Edward Catholic E S	$ 3,629,054
St Elizabeth Catholic E S	$ 1,003,688
St John Catholic E S	$ 2,623,738
St. Joseph Catholic E S (g)	$ 77,250
St. Mark Catholic E S	$ 247,200
ÉSC JeanVanier	$ 71,720
St. Mathew	$ 10,200
Ecole Elementaire Michaelle Jean	$ 2,963,336

School conditions matter. They impact student learning, attendance, and health.

We ask that you and your government please prioritize schools as critical infrastructure and take the steps necessary to ensure that the disrepair in all of Ontario’s publicly funded schools is eliminated and that schools are safe, healthy, well-maintained buildings that provide environments conducive to learning and working. We look forward to hearing back from you with details on your plan to Fix Ontario’s Schools.

PLEASE NOTE: Fix Our Schools is relying on the most recent disrepair data provided by the Ministry of Education in Fall 2017 and has mapped postal codes provided by the Ministry for each school to riding postal code information from a third party. Therefore, it is possible that there may be small errors in the data provided here and we would be grateful if community members would contact us with any errors.

Minister Elliott: $72.1-million of Disrepair in Newmarket-Aurora Schools

July 9, 2019

Dear Minister Elliott,

Did you know there is $72.1-million of disrepair in the publicly funded schools in your riding of Newmarket-Aurora? We wanted to share the following details of disrepair in each school in your riding in the hope that this detailed information would underscore the importance of developing standards of good repair for Ontario schools and also the importance of providing the adequate, stable provincial funding to school boards required for them to meet those new standards and eliminate the $15.9-billion repair backlog that plagues Ontario’s schools:

Total disrepair in each publicly funded school in Newmarket-Aurora Riding:

Canadian Martyrs CES	$ 1,995,699
Notre Dame CES	$ 263,123
Sacred Heart CHS	$ 3,697,853
St. Elizabeth Seton CES	$ 687,832
St. Jerome CES	$ 130,000
St. John Chrysostom CES	$ 70,290
St. Maximilian Kolbe CHS	$ 140,000
St. Nicholas CES	$ 1,229,590
St. Paul CES	$ 1,890,041
Alexander Muir PS	$ 115,847
Armitage Village PS	$ 602,408
Aurora Heights PS	$ 1,040,393
Bogart PS	$ 1,280,885
Clearmeadow PS	$ 1,704,095
Crossland PS	$ 1,229,562
Denne PS	$ 2,874,868
Devins Drive PS	$ 1,453,209
Dr John M Denison SS	$ 5,479,453
Glen Cedar PS	$ 1,412,822
Hartman PS	$ 22,726
Huron Heights SS	$ 18,337,683
J L R Bell PS	$ 2,261,626
Lester B Pearson PS	$ 1,009,062
Maple Leaf PS	$ 4,711,432
Mazo De La Roche PS	$ 2,413,219
Meadowbrook PS	$ 3,523,312
Newmarket HS	$ 3,575,364
Northern Lights PS	$ 170,601
Poplar Bank PS	$ 427,097
Prince Charles PS	$ 2,250,573
Rogers PS	$ 76,755
Sir William Mulock SS	$ 881,510
Stonehaven ES	$ 1,504,776
Stuart Scott PS	$ 2,395,981
Terry Fox PS	$ 71,960
ÉÉC SaintJean	$ 1,042,239
ÉSC Renaissance	$ 89,539

School conditions matter. They impact student learning, attendance, and health.

Minister Lecce: $30.9-million of Disrepair in King-Vaughan Schools

July 2, 2019

Dear Education Minister Lecce,

Did you know there is $30.9-million of disrepair in the publicly funded schools in your riding of King-Vaughan?

We wanted to share the following details of disrepair in each school in your riding in the hope that this detailed information would underscore the importance of developing standards of good repair for Ontario schools and also the importance of providing the adequate, stable provincial funding to school boards required for them to meet those new standards and eliminate the $15.9-billion repair backlog that plagues Ontario’s schools:

Total disrepair in each publicly funded school in King-Vaughan Riding:

Blessed Trinity CES	$ 452,608
Divine Mercy CES	$ 83,756
Father John Kelly CES	$ 1,010,389
Holy Jubilee CES	$ 34,983
Our Lady of Peace CES	$ 1,769,886
St. Cecilia CES	$ 37,000
St. David CES	$ 2,854,179
St. James CES	$ 58,305
St. Joan of Arc CHS	$ 6,593,572
St. Mary CES	$ 771,710
St. Mary of the Angels CES	$ 45,000
St. Raphael the Archangel CES	$ 65,000
Discovery PS	$ 862,400
Dr. Roberta Bondar PS	$ 20,280
Glenn Gould PS	$ 30,500
Herbert H. Carnegie PS	$ 135,876
Joseph A Gibson PS	$ 2,245,020
Julliard PS	$ 721,300
Kettleby PS	$ 1,136,682
King City PS	$ 50,700
King City SS	$ 6,705,420
Mackenzie Glen PS	$ 354,620
Maple Creek PS	$ 745,200
Maple HS	$ 650,920
Michael Cranny ES	$ 387,500
Nobleton PS	$ 1,573,900
Teston Village PS	$ 346,300
ÉÉC LePetitPrince	$ 1,217,134

School conditions matter. They impact student learning, attendance, and health.

The High Cost of Low Corporate Taxes – another side of the equation

June 27, 2019

The Toronto Star investigative report entitled, “The High Cost of Low Corporate Taxes“, by Marco Chown Oved, Toby A.A. Heaps and Michael Yow, was published on December 14, 2017. It outlines many points of interest if one is concerned with government deficits each year that lead to massive debt that leads to a possible crushing tax burden for future generations due to interest payments on said debt.

Although, before you go down the rabbit hole of thinking that governments ought to avoid deficits and subsequent debt at all costs, please have a read through a previous blog of ours entitled, “Why household overspending is worse than government overspending”. In this previous blog, Olivier Blanchard, a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), counters the big criticism of government budget deficits – namely, that they can lead to a bigger tax burden for future generations due to interest payments. Blanchard suggests that deficit spending by governments can actually produce a net benefit if it results in improved hospitals, highway, or public transit that create economic growth.

We digress. Back to the Toronto Star report and those of you who worry about how government deficits each year can lead to a colossal debt-load with commensurate colossal interest payments. The overarching idea is that to balance any government’s books each year and avoid a deficit position, this government has a few levers with which to tinker:

A government can raise our personal income taxes.
A government can find “efficiencies”, which is a euphemism in most cases for delivering less to its citizens in any number of ways (for instance, a government can stop investing in maintaining and repairing its infrastructure – such as schools for example)
A government may consider that the proportion of the public budget funded by personal income taxes has never been higher and look to increase revenues collected via corporate taxes from big companies – especially banks.

Now we realize that this entire investigative report was written from a federal perspective and that Fix Our Schools is a provincial campaign based on Ontario. However, the information presented in this report is fascinating and worthy of consideration and possible application at a provincial level too. The information, some of which is laid out in bullet-form for you to peruse below, is also a very good reminder that there is another option for governments to balance their books other than cutting service levels to its citizens – especially those citizens such as students, who aren’t even old enough to vote!

“For every dollar corporations pay to the Canadian government in income tax, people pay $3.50. The proportion of the public budget funded by personal income taxes has never been greater.”
“The amount of tax most big companies in Canada pay has been dropping as a proportion of their profits for years, and not only because the corporate tax rate has been cut repeatedly. Canada’s largest corporations use complex techniques and tax loopholes to reduce their taxes significantly below the official corporate tax rate set by the government.”
“The financial filings of Canada’s 102 biggest corporations shows these companies have avoided paying $62.9 billion in income taxes (between 2011 and 2016)”.
“The 2011-2016 audited financial statements of all large Canadian corporations (those worth more than $2 billion) reveal they paid an average of 17.7 percent tax. During that time, the average official corporate tax rate in Canada for this group of companies was 26.6 percent. That 8.9 percent gap translates into tens of billions of dollars that could have been used to pay for the schools, roads, hospitals, police and paramedics we all rely on.”
“In an average year, the 102 biggest companies in Canada pay $10.5 billion less than they would if they paid tax at the official corporate tax rate” of 26.6% (rather than taking advantage of tax loopholes). $10.5-billion could provide 1.2-million childcare spaces.
“The last year that corporations paid as much income tax as people was 1952. That year, the Canadian government was flush with money and used it to start setting up the social safety net with the establishment of the Old Age Security pension program. The private sector was also doing well, as corporate capital investments hit record levels and wages soared. The postwar boom was in full swing and the wealth was being enjoyed widely: Suburbs were exploding, schools and hospitals were built and new highways were laid down across the country.’
“Today (in 2016), Canada’s economy is the strongest in the G7, but municipal, provincial and federal governments have to borrow money every year, or dip into savings, to make ends meet. Inequality is at an all-time high. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and public infrastructure — from transit to social housing — is failing and falling apart. While Canadian governments have trouble coming up with cash for public services, Canadian companies are rolling in dough.”
“Historically, businesses have argued that raising corporate tax will hurt investment. But StatsCan numbers show that drastic cuts to the corporate income tax rate over the last 20 years have not stimulated new business investment. Between 1997 to 2016, Canada’s corporate income tax rate was cut almost in half, from 43 percent to 26.7 percent. But investment in machinery and equipment and in intellectual property is still below the 1997 level as a percent of GDP.”
“Peter Nicholson, former Finance Canada deputy minister, says Canada has implemented a market-friendly tax rate but failed to reap the rewards in productivity and innovation.
According to Gabriel Zucman, a Stanford University economist cited in the Toronto Star report, “Some countries, including Canada, have attempted to dramatically cut taxes on the wealthy and let corporate tax avoidance prosper. The result of these ‘trickle down’ policies which started in the 1980s is now clear: income and wealth have boomed for a tiny fraction of the population, but this has not benefitted the rest of the population at all. We must learn the lessons from this big natural experiment. The main lesson is that to have broad-based growth, we need an equitable tax system, where big corporations and high-earners in the financial industry and elsewhere pay their fair share — otherwise Trumpism will prevail.”

These bullets, all taken from the Toronto Star report cited above, offer a lot to ponder. We hope that readers will consider all the levers that a government could use to balance its budget each year and we also hope that you take to heart that a government deficit may not be the end of the world so long as the government’s investments lead to a rate of economic growth that is higher than the interest rate on the accumulating debt.

The Economic Case for Investing in Education

June 25, 2019

The Conference Board of Canada, Canada’s foremost independent, evidence-based applied research organization, released a report entitled, “The Economic Case for Investing in Education” on June 19, 2019. The report explores how changes in spending on publicly funded education in Ontario impact the economy and also examines the wider social and fiscal impacts.

Notable findings from the report:

Each dollar that our provincial government spends on publicly funded education generates $1.30 in total economic benefits to Ontario. At the same time, the inverse holds true for each dollar cut from public education.
Publicly funded education can generate social benefits, such as a healthier population, a higher standard of living, and a reduction in crime. These social benefits have a positive impact on our provincial budget because they all lessen demands for Ontario’s social assistance, public health care, and criminal justice services.

Each additional high school graduate saves the Ontario government (on average) $2,767 each year on social assistance, health care, and criminal justice. On the other hand, each additional high school non-completer costs the province $3,128 each year.
Through increases in public education spending, Ontario could lift its high school graduation rates to 90%, matching the highest in the country and seeing average fiscal savings of $16.4 million per year. That could accrue to total savings of $3.5 billion over the course of two decades.
In a reverse scenario, where high school graduation rates instead fall to 82.6%, Ontario would spend an additional $18.0 million each year. Over a 20-year period, that could amount to total fiscal costs of $3.8 billion. It is clear that compared with high school graduates, individuals without a high school diploma are more costly to the province’s public resources.

While this report does not specifically mention investing in school buildings, we know that school conditions impact student achievement, student health and student attendance. Therefore, we extrapolate that provincial spending on education to benefit Ontario’s economy would include provincial spending on actual school buildings as well.

We Need to Listen to Custodians Across the Province

June 20, 2019

The Fix Our Schools campaign has often heard from custodians in both rural and urban school boards.

“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.”

This statement is from an Ontario custodian. His sentiments underscore the need for a provincial approach to funding education that takes into account differences in geography, demographics and the age of school buildings when it comes to school renewal funding and also to operational maintenance funding.

We heard from another Ontario caretaker that, “A clean and well-maintained building = better student success and future”.

https://twitter.com/RobcRob/status/1110189889335844870?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1110189889335844870%7Ctwgr%5E393039363b74776565745f6d65646961&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Ffixourschools.ca%2F%3Fp%3D3189%26preview%3Dtrue

Ensuring classroom environments in Ontario’s publicly funded schools are optimum for learning is the reason that Fix Our Schools asked MPP’s to commit to a State of Good Repair Standard for our schools in the June 2018 provincial election. Our call to action resonated for a vast number of MPP candidates and, in fact, 58 elected MPPs in Ontario signed the Fix Our Schools Pledge.

The $15.9 billion of disrepair that has accumulated in Ontario’s schools is due to the chronic and gross provincial underfunding for two decades…

Underfunding of school renewal
Underfunding of operational maintenance
Underfunding of new schools

The conditions in Ontario’s publicly funded schools must be addressed sooner than later and this is going to require a concerted effort by our provincial government and a new approach to funding schools as critical infrastructure. To truly Fix Ontario’s schools, we need an estimated additional $1.6-billion/year.

We know this is a lot of money. We also know that:

Schools are a critical element of our public infrastructure
2 million Ontario children spend their days in school buildings and need safe, healthy, well-maintained, clean places to learn.
Teachers, education workers, adult learners, and pre-schoolers who attend childcare facilities in local public schools also need safe, healthy, well-maintained, clean environments in which to work and learn.
Repairs in Ontario’s schools are only going to get more expensive if we do not fully address the $15.9 billion repair backlog as soon as possible. The limiting factor should be, “how quickly can we get people to DO the work … NOT the amount of money available to fix schools”

So if we collectively agree that we value our children and we value their education then we will start to do what it takes to truly fix Ontario’s schools and fix the broken provincial funding approach to education that has allowed $15.9 billion of disrepair to accumulate in Ontario’s schools.

People for Education Annual Report 2019

June 18, 2019

People for Education released its Annual Report on Ontario’s Publicly Funded Schools on June 17, 2019, with a press conference at Queen’s Park highlighting that in a time of rapid social and economic change such as the one we are currently living in, well-resourced public schools are more important than ever. In fact, the results from the 2019 People for Education Annual Ontario School Survey, which includes data from 1254 schools, clearly demonstrated the positive impact when provincial government education policy change is accompanied by resources and coherent strategies.

People for Education also emphasized at their press conference that the main focus must be on how provincial government education policy and provincial funding decisions around education actually impact the 2-million students in Ontario who attend publicly funded schools each day.

Fix Our Schools applauds the systematic and detailed research collected and shared each year by People for Education, an independent, non-partisan organization that creates evidence, instigates dialogue, and build links so that people can see — and act on — the connection between publicly funded education and a fair and prosperous society. At Fix Our Schools, we know how key research and data can be in making effective change to any system and have relied very heavily on school disrepair data in our own campaign over the years.

If you are interested in publicly funded education, we encourage you to read the whole Annual Report, which covers wide-ranging topics from special education to technology in the classroom. For the Fix Our Schools campaign, we were particularly struck by the following findings that clearly demonstrate how important it is for our provincial government to provide the adequate, stable funding required for all Ontario publicly funded schools to be safe, healthy, clean and well-maintained buildings in which to learn and work.

From page 7 of the Annual Report: “Custodians School custodians support the school in many ways, ensuring healthy and functioning facilities. Custodians play a critical role in keeping schools clean and addressing health and safety issues. In elementary schools, there is an average of one custodian for every 198 students, and in secondary schools the ratio is 1:231.”

Bill Houlden, one of the head custodians at O’Neill CVI, has been a custodian with the Durham District School Board for 12 years. On Nov. 19 he was recognized with the DDSB’s Educational Services Staff Award, an annual award that recognizes school staff such as custodians, clerical staff and educational assistants who go above and beyond.

From page 7 of the Annual Report: “On last year’s Annual Ontario School Survey, 22% of principals in elementary schools reported that managing facilities was the most time-consuming part of their jobs.” (People for Education, 2018a, 2018b).
From page 7 of the Annual Report: “The custodian works 5.5 hours. 7- 9 am and 2- 5:30 pm (the provincial education funding model means our custodian must split their time between schools so we do not have a full-time custodian on site). The hours in between I am responsible for the custodian duties that arise (toilet cleaning, cleaning bodily fluids, shoveling walkway if we have lots of snow fall, putting out sand on the parking lot in winter months). I also teach for .5 of the day as LRT (special education) and Reading Recovery teacher and have full Principal duties.” Principal of an Elementary school, Huron Superior CDSB
From page 8 of the Annual Report: “Principals and vice-principals are feeling increasingly overwhelmed by the number of initiatives they are responsible for. The risk of burn out has increased dramatically over the past 10-15 years. Principals and vice principals wish to focus on instructional leadership, but they must spend time on other organizational challenges such as Plant or Facilities issues, IT, HR, mental health of students and staff, health and safety legislation, transportation, finance, etc.” Secondary school, Renfrew County DSB

What people are saying in Doug Ford’s riding

June 13, 2019

Fix Our Schools was happy to volunteer this past weekend with Progress Toronto. We knocked on doors with other Progress Toronto volunteers in Etobicoke North to understand how people there are feeling about proposed cuts by Doug Ford’s government. Other teams of Progress Toronto volunteers knocked on doors in many other ridings.

Almost all the people we spoke with who expressed concerns about the provincial government’s proposals said that a properly funded public education system was a priority for them. Furthermore, we spoke with one teacher who works at many schools in Etobicoke North and she said the conditions she routinely sees in these schools are substandard and concerning. Not surprising, given that $178.4-million of disrepair exists in the publicly funded schools in Etobicoke North.

We also met many of Premier Ford’s constituents who support his provincial government unequivocally. These people most often said their largest concern was the provincial debt and its associated interest payments, which they believe will be a large financial burden to future generations. We posted a blog a while back entitled, “Why household overspending is worse than government overspending“, citing a well-respected economist who suggested that while household debt is almost always a bad thing, governments are a bit different. Unlike households, governments can make investments that stimulate economic growth. If a government takes on a deficit position to make these types of investments and the resulting economic growth is larger than the interest rate payments – then this is actually a very good thing. Hmmmm… some food for thought.