Wynne’s neglect leaves our students struggling to learn in derelict buildings

School repair backlog hits $15.9 billion on Liberals’ watch

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Tuesday the time to invest in repairs for children’s schools is long overdue – pointing to an $15.9 billion backlog in needed repairs that Kathleen Wynne has allowed to pile up.

“Schools in Ontario need $15.9 billion-worth of repairs just to get them back to decent standards for our kids. That’s a very big number with very real consequences,” said Horwath. “I can imagine a Grade 2 student trying to focus on her math test while fumbling with her winter gloves and parka because the heat is broken again in her school. We have to do better for children in this province.”

Years of neglect under both the Liberals and the Conservatives have brought Ontario’s schools to a tipping point, and students and families have been repeatedly let down by Liberal budgets. After the Conservative government cut school maintenance budgets, leaving a $5.6-billion backlog in repairs that needed to be done, the Liberal government has provided just a fraction of the repair money needed in any given year – funding as little as one-tenth of the repairs kids need.

“The premier’s record on education is abysmal. Since 2011, the Liberals have closed more than 270 schools and put another 300 on the chopping block. The repair backlog has only gone up and is now a staggering $15.9 billion,” said Horwath.

Children are being sent to schools with leaky roofs and broken boilers, and thousands of students are being sent to learn in dilapidated portables. Reports of dangerously hot classrooms in the summer and cold classrooms in the winter have become common.

Horwath said she believes that government can do better for the two million public school children in Ontario.

“Schools are parks, playgrounds and public spaces – they are supposed to support and encourage our kids to learn. We need to look at the broken funding formula and finally fix our schools so that our kids can focus on learning, and not just staying warm.”