A brand new report from the province’s monetary watchdog says faculties in Waterloo area are in disrepair, however one native college board says the info is not giving the entire image.
The report was launched by the province’s monetary accountability officer Jeffrey Novak earlier this month.
In an interview with CBC Kitchener-Waterloo, Novak stated about 40 per cent of the colleges in Waterloo area are usually not in a very good state of restore. Most of these are beneath the purview of the Waterloo Area District College Board (WRDSB).
The report says 55 out of 123 faculties beneath the general public college board are at the moment not in a very good state of restore.
“It undoubtedly will get to some extent the place the age of the constructing and the quantity of repairs required … can be less expensive to switch the varsity,” Novak stated of colleges throughout the province being in want of renovations.
The Waterloo Area District College Board says Novak’s report “highlights the dimensions of the work that lies forward of us” however does not present the total image of what the board is dealing with.
“It is essential to notice that the info offered as a part of the FAO report is from the varsity facility situation evaluation program, which was paused through the pandemic. Because of this, the info doesn’t mirror the present state of WRDSB faculties,” the board stated in a press release emailed to CBC Information.
The board famous it is dedicated to protecting college buildings and school rooms protected and it has acquired grants from the Ministry of Schooling assist cowl prices.
“The pupil lodging grant–college renewal allocation is used to switch crucial infrastructure at faculties that has reached the top of its life, comparable to home windows, roofing, flooring, heating, air flow and air-conditioning programs,” the board stated.
“This funding can be used to enhance the accessibility of present areas, to make sure that all college students are in a position to entry all areas of their college.”
The board says it expects to obtain over $10.4 million in funding from the varsity renewal allocation program for the 2024-25 college yr. It additionally anticipates $33 million via the training minister’s college situation enchancment grant, which helps college boards end back-logged tasks.
Excessive capability at native faculties, report finds
Novak’s report additionally famous native faculties are coping with a excessive variety of college students in school rooms.
The report says WRDSB school rooms are about 97 per cent full. Courses on the Waterloo Catholic District College Board (WCDSB) are 117 per cent full.
In the meantime, classroom utilization price is 94 per cent for lessons inside the Higher Grand District College Board (UGDSB) and 87.2 per cent for the Wellington Catholic District College Board.
Except the Wellington Catholic board, all of these native percentages are greater than the provincial common college utilization price of 87.6 per cent.
“Proper now we expect there’s about 150,000 college students in faculties [across Ontario] the place there’s not sufficient house for them,” Novak stated, including typically moveable school rooms are used as a short lived resolution.
The report lists what number of college students in every college board are studying in momentary buildings:
Waterloo Area District College Board: 5,109. Waterloo Catholic: 4,782. Higher Grand: 2,283. Wellington Catholic: 464.
The Wellington Catholic District College Board is the one college within the space with numbers at or under the provincial common — nevertheless it’s additionally the board with the least variety of faculties.
The variety of faculties in every board are:
Waterloo Area District College Board: 123. Waterloo Catholic: 48. Higher Grand: 78. Wellington Catholic: 22.
“If it is a everlasting capability strain, then the really useful choice for the federal government is to construct a brand new college,” Novak stated.
He is estimating it’ll price $9.8 billion to handle college capability pressures throughout the province. That’s equal to 172 pupil areas at about 227 faculties throughout Ontario.
The report says Waterloo Area District College Board particularly will want 7,804 new pupil areas by 2034 at a value of $445 million.
The Higher Grand District College Board says it maintains a excessive customary of look after its college buildings and that was acknowledged within the report, because the board was listed within the high 10 boards on the constructing situation index.
“This achievement highlights the dedication of our amenities workers, and administration to supply protected, clear, and well-maintained amenities that foster a constructive studying atmosphere for all college students and workers,” the board stated in an emailed assertion.
Ontario Chronicle reached out to the Waterloo Catholic District College Board and the Wellington Catholic District College Board for touch upon the monetary accountability officer’s report. They didn’t reply to the request for remark.
