With out elevated funding, the Monetary Accountability Workplace estimates, the share of faculty buildings throughout Ontario that won’t be in states of fine restore in 10 years will improve to 74.6 per cent general from 37.4 per cent now.
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Printed Dec 19, 2024 • Final up to date 19 minutes in the past • 3 minute learn
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The Ottawa-Carleton District College Board faces an estimated backlog $882 million for renewal tasks. Photograph by ERROL MCGIHON /Postmedia
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Virtually one-third of Ottawa-Carleton District College Board faculty buildings are beneath a “state of good repair,” in response to a report from Ontario’s monetary watchdog.
Of the OCDSB’s 147 faculties, 45 are beneath the state of fine restore, stated the report from the Monetary Accountability Workplace of Ontario, which offers impartial evaluation to the provincial authorities.
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College buildings which might be beneath the state of fine restore threshold both require repairs or needs to be changed with new faculties.
The situation of faculty buildings is assessed on a rolling five-year cycle. Unbiased engineers establish constructing parts that want restore and alternative after which quantify the prices to handle these points.
The FAO report was primarily based on this info and used methodologies developed by the Ministry of Infrastructure to estimate whether or not a faculty constructing was in a “state of good repair” or “below a state of good repair.”
Over the following 10 years, it would price $21.7 billion to clear Ontario’s faculty constructing infrastructure backlog and to take care of faculties in states of fine restore, plus one other $9.8 billion to construct new faculties to handle everlasting capability pressures, for a complete of $31.4 billion, the FAO estimates.
As compared, the 2024 Ontario price range capital plan allotted an estimated $18.7 billion over 10 years — leading to an estimated funding shortfall over 10 years of $12.7 billion.
If funded at this degree, the Monetary Accountability Workplace estimates that the share of faculty buildings throughout Ontario that may not be in states of fine restore would improve to 74.6 per cent from 37.4 per cent in 10 years.
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In the meantime, the OCDSB faces an estimated backlog $882 million for renewal tasks. That determine additionally leaves out administrative buildings not used as studying websites.
“That is almost a billion dollars of work that needs to be done to bring our schools back up to snuff,” Trustee Lyra Evans stated final week.
“And I’m disappointed in this being my sixth year (as a trustee) that I have sat here and it has grown from $600 million when I was first elected to $882 million now. ”
Trustee Lyra stated she wasn’t blaming OCDSB workers, however famous that the funds to do the work weren’t obtainable.
There are limitations on how faculty boards can spend provincial funding.
The OCDSB has about $81 million in “school condition improvement” funding, for instance, however faculty boards are restricted to utilizing 70 per cent of that to handle main constructing parts together with foundations, roofs, home windows and techniques comparable to HVAC and plumbing. College boards are solely allowed to make use of the remaining 30 per cent of their faculty situation enchancment funding to handle locally-identified wants.
The OCDSB is spending $105.75 million in amenities renewal subsequent yr, with about 500 tasks starting from roofing and HVAC upgrades to accessibility tasks comparable to new elevators for Hillcrest and Brookfield excessive faculties, science lab renovations of $21 million and including or changing washrooms to common and inclusive amenities.
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The Monetary Accountability Workplace report didn’t present figures for “below the good repair” requirements for all faculty boards, however did observe that the full proportion of faculties beneath the usual diversified by faculty system.
The English public system had the best proportion of faculties beneath the good-repair commonplace at 43.3 per cent, in comparison with 27.3 per cent for English Catholic faculty buildings, 31.7 per cent for French public faculties and 25.7 per cent of French Catholic faculties.
The province’s 10 largest boards, together with the OCDSB, account for greater than half of all faculty buildings beneath the state of fine restore.
The Toronto District College Board had the best share of buildings beneath the usual at 84.1 per cent, adopted by the London-area Thames Valley District College Board at 52.5 per cent and the Toronto Catholic District College Board at 45.6 per cent.
The Monetary Accountability Workplace additionally checked out capability pressures on the college system.
College enrolment will improve by nearly 90,000 college students over the following 10 years, and Ontario might want to construct the equal of 227 new faculties at a price of $9.8 billion, the report stated.
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