Disrepair in Ontario's schools grows to $15.9 billion
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov. 13, 2017) - Tuesday November 14th, 10am Media Studio, Queens Park.
In 2002, $5.6 billion of disrepair existed in Ontario's publicly funded schools. Today, there is $15.9 billion of disrepair in the buildings where 2 million Ontario children spend their days. Chronic and gross underfunding by our provincial government has allowed disrepair in schools to triple over the last 15 years.
With a provincial election in June, Ontarians are coming together to demand that our provincial government fix our schools.
On Tuesday, November 14 at 10:00 am, economist Hugh Mackenzie will release his report entitled, "Ontario's deteriorating schools - the fix is not in". The root causes of the $15.9 billion repair backlog in Ontario's schools are examined and Mackenzie outlines what the next provincial government must do to fix our schools.
The Campaign for Public Education and the Fix Our Schools Campaign will build on Mackenzie's report by asking all provincial candidates for the June 2018 election to:
- Support the development of an Ontario-wide "State of Good Repair Standard" for all publicly funded schools so that these public assets are safe, healthy, well-maintained buildings that provide environments conducive to learning and working.
- Support the provision of adequate, stable funding needed to ensure that by 2022, all Ontario schools meet this "State of Good Repair Standard".
Students, parents, teachers, education workers and school trustees across this province will be working tirelessly to ensure that every successful candidate in the June 2018 election has prioritized publicly funded schools by answering yes to these two questions.
Quotes
"The provincial government has made a mess of funding for school facilities; we can't fix our schools without fixing the way we pay for them." - Hugh Mackenzie, economist.
"In 2015, Ontario's Auditor-General confirmed that provincial funding for school repairs was grossly inadequate - in some years, only ONE-TENTH of what it ought to have been. Our provincial government's approach to funding education has seen disrepair in Ontario's schools triple from $5.6 billion in 2003 to $15.9 billion today. As a parent and a voter, I find this appalling and call on every candidate in the June 2018 election to prioritize publicly funded education and schools." - Krista Wylie, Co-Founder of the Fix Our Schools Campaign
"During my twelve years as an Ontario student, I've experienced freezing cold classrooms, boiling hot classrooms, leaking ceilings and disgusting washrooms. It makes me wonder if the adults in charge really do value our education." - Sarah Dueck, Grade 11 Student
"We need a province-wide Standard of Good Repair for schools and adequate provincial funding for school boards to meet those standards within a set timeline of four years. - Stephen Seaborn, Campaign for Public Education
"Our children and students across this province deserve to go to school in well-maintained buildings. Hugh Mackenzie's plan tells us how we can achieve that goal. " - TDSB Trustee Chris Glover.
The full Mackenzie report and photos
Available on our websites*.
Fix Our Schools, founded in 2014, is a grassroots, non-partisan, parent-led campaign creating a large network of citizens across Ontario who expect that every publicly funded school in the province is a safe, healthy, well-maintained building that provides an environment conducive to learning and working. * fixourschools.ca
Campaign for Public Education was founded in 2002 to coordinate efforts of parent, teacher, education worker and ethno-racial organizations in campaigning for needs-based funding for public education. * campaignforpubliceducation.ca
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