By Staff
December 19th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The Ontario Liberals are beginning to take positions on what the Ford government is doing.
Ontario Liberal Party leader Bonnie Crombie standing outside the Legislature
A media release from what is now being called “Team Bonnie” sounds the alarm over Ford’s failure to fund schools
The Financial Accountability Office (FAO) predicts $12.7-billion Shortfall for School Repairs and Capacity in Ontario
“This funding isn’t even about improving our schools—it’s just the bare minimum to keep them safe and functional. That’s $12.7 billion less for our kids’ learning environments. Parents trust our schools to deliver for their children, and we need to invest in them to ensure that trust isn’t misplaced. Ontario Liberals will deliver more for you—because every child deserves better.”
Karen McCrimmon, Ontario Liberal Education Critic and MPP for Kanata—Carleton, emphasized the impact on students and families, saying, “Over 150,000 students in overflow classrooms like portables is just unacceptable. The system is strained beyond recognition, and our kids are the ones paying the price for Ford’s failures.”
The FAO report shows the urgent state of Ontario’s schools:
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The current cost to bring all school buildings into a state of good repair is $6.5 billion.
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Over the next 10 years, $15.2 billion will be needed to maintain aging infrastructure.
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An additional $9.8 billion is required to create the necessary 172,187 new student spaces—equivalent to building 227 new schools.
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Almost 1/3 of schools are overcapacity, with over 100,000 students in portables.
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3 out of 4 Ontario schools will be in a poor state of repair by 2034, with a $22 billion infrastructure backlog.
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Despite self-congratulatory government ads, Doug Ford’s current plan will result in almost 3,000 portables being used in schools, even a decade from now.
In total, the report identifies a need for $31.4 billion over the next decade. However, the Ford government has only allocated $12.5 billion for repairs and $6.2 billion for new capacity, leaving a funding gap of $12.7 billion.
Ontario Liberals are committed to addressing the funding shortfall and ensuring safe, modern learning environments for all students across the province.
This problem has been decades in the making. Leave it to the Liberal Party to put this on Doug Ford’s government.
This Provincial Government could have done more to correct the situation but it was something that was inherited.
Postering for a Provincial election has started.
Why is the Education levy on our property taxes frozen at $1,000? And it has been for a long time. It is unacceptable.
While learning in portables is not the most desirable option for a learning environment, neither is it a major problem. I’ve had the experience of being in many portables in Halton–they are clean, safe, properly lit, outfitted with electronic capabilities and properly heated.
What the article fails to mention are policies of governments that have led to the widespread use of portables–sudden increases in immigration in the past 5 years and the use of intensification which increases student populations at existing schools. Given time, we can implement good investment in schools but in the short run, school boards have little choice but to use portables.