Ontario’s fiscal watchdog says it would cost $31.4 billion over 10 years to clear a backlog of school repair needs, build enough new spaces to address growth and maintain all schools in a state of good repair. However, the Financial Accountability Office says the provincial government’s 10-year capital plan allocates $18.7 billion for school buildings, resulting in a shortfall of $12.7 billion.
As of March 31, 2024, the FAO found that provincewide, about 3,037 schools, or about 63 per cent of schools, are in a state of good repair, while 1,813, about 37 per cent, were below that threshold.
“The 10 largest school boards accounted for 52 per cent of all buildings below (state of good repair) SOGR,” the report noted.
The FAO’s report today (December 17, 2024) on the condition of Ontario school buildings also says that most schools are under full capacity, with hundreds of schools operating with fewer than 60 per cent of the maximum number of students.
The FAO also says about 1,400 schools were over capacity, and that looking at projected enrolment growth, the equivalent of 227 new schools will need to be built over the next 10 years.
The report sparked an immediate outcry from the opposition parties.
“Today’s FAO report tells you all you need to know about the Ford government’s priorities,” said Ontario Greens Deputy Leader and candidate for Parry Sound–Muskoka Matt Richter. “It would cost them less money to repair every single school in the province than to build Highway 413, and yet look where our tax dollars are going – building highways in the GTA that won’t solve gridlock and ripping out bike lanes in downtown Toronto.”
“Today’s report makes it clear that Ford’s cuts to education are setting our students back by a generation,” said NDP Leader Marit Stiles in a news release. “Schools are facing mould and flooding with the lowest per-student funding in ten years. Things need to change, and fast. We need to start investing in our schools because when kids learn in safe, healthy schools, they do better. They reach their potential. And when we invest in their success, we build a stronger future for all of us.”
Ontario Education Minister Jill Dunlop released a statement saying that the province has doubled the funding to build and expand schools and cut construction timelines in half, with 240 new schools under construction.
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation called the report “a grim picture of neglect and underfunding for Ontario’s schools”.
“The Ford government’s failure to address the school repair backlog is atrocious,” said Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF/FEESO) President Karen Littlewood. “Students are trying to learn in environments where ceilings are leaking, and facilities are falling apart. Educational staff, already overburdened and burnt out, now face the added stress of unsafe and precarious working conditions. This is no way to foster education, opportunity, or community.”
“Their highly misleading claims of “historic” investments in education are clearly fictional,” Littlewood adds. “But it’s time to face the facts and make legitimate investments in Ontario’s public education system. Our students deserve no less.”
Click HERE to read the FAO report.
