in comparison, the 2024 ontario budget capital plan allocated an estimated $18.7 billion over 10 years — resulting in an estimated funding shortfall over 10 years of $12.7 billion.
if funded at this level, the financial accountability office estimates that the percentage of school buildings across ontario that would not be in states of good repair would increase to 74.6 per cent from 37.4 per cent in 10 years.
meanwhile, the ocdsb faces an estimated backlog $882 million for renewal projects. that figure also leaves out administrative buildings not used as learning sites.
“that is almost a billion dollars of work that needs to be done to bring our schools back up to snuff,” trustee lyra evans said last 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 said she wasn’t blaming ocdsb staff, but noted that the funds to do the work were not available.
there are limitations on how school boards can spend provincial funding.
the ocdsb has about $81 million in “school condition improvement” funding, for example, but school boards are restricted to using 70 per cent of that to address major building components including foundations, roofs, windows and systems such as hvac and plumbing. school boards are only allowed to use the remaining 30 per cent of their school condition improvement funding to address locally-identified needs.