Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles was joined Tuesday morning outside of Pauline Johnson Collegiate by Brantford-Brant NDP candidate Harvey Bischof and union officials representing educators to speak about the repair backlog for schools across the province.
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The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario – which provides independent financial and economic analysis to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario – released a report Tuesday indicating that 37.4 per cent of schools across the province were below a state of good repair (SOGR). The current cost to bring all schools into a SOGR is $6.5 billion, while maintaining all schools over the next 10 years would require another $15.2 billion.
Stiles said the New Democrats would eliminate the repair backlog, reduce class sizes, and invest in mental health professionals, educational assistants and resources because children, parents, and educators deserve it.
“It’s a question of priorities. Our government always has money for their pet projects like the $2.2 billion they are spending at the downtown spa at Ontario Place,” Stiles stated. “When it comes to fixing our schools, they always seem to look the other way, and that is not leadership.
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“When kids learn in safe and healthy schools, they do better. They reach their potential and when we invest in their success, we build a stronger future for every one of us.”
Andrea Murik, president of the OSSTF District 23 Teacher’s Bargaining Unit, called the neglected infrastructure of schools by government underfunding “a pressing and persistent crisis” that endangers the well-being of students, teachers and communities.
“It is shameful that we only learned the true extent of this crisis through these financial accountability reports,” Murik said. “Our newest high school on this board is already over 30 years old. Students are crammed into aging laptops with poor air quality. Students deserve safe, modern, and inspiring learning environments.”
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Carolyn Proulx-Wootton, president of the Grand Erie Elementary Teachers’ Federation, stated that 70,000 children across the province are waiting for autism supports, showing up to school without essential therapies and without the educational assistant they need to be successful, while class sizes are too large to meet the needs of students.
“Inclusion without support is abandonment,” she said. “Our schools are suffering from chronic underfunding, under-resourcing and understaffing, creating environments where students’ needs are going unmet.”
The GEETF president also noted that, adjusted for inflation, per-student funding is now $1,500 less than it was in 2018 which, at Pauline Johnson Collegiate, means a loss of $1.3 million this year alone.
“Our schools need infrastructure and upgrades, and they have been neglected.”
The NDP leader said a dramatic increase in funding is needed for capital repairs and capacity.
“We need to be looking at per-student funding, and we need to rethink the funding formula,” Stiles explained. “We are on a track now — in the next 10 years — (of) 75 per cent of our schools not meeting that minimum (SOGR) standard.
“We can’t afford not to invest in the education of our children. It’s about what’s good for our economy and the future of Ontario.”
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