Ontario's fiscal watchdog reports that a backlog of school repairs and new spaces over 10 years is necessary, but the government's plan will leave a gap.
The watchdog wants the $31.4-billion backlog cleared, with only $18.7-billion in the government's plan, leaving a $12.7-billion gap.
Education Minister Jill Dunlop was in Kingsville on Tuesday evening and says the province has doubled funding for school construction and is building 240 new schools. She states that many schools are under capacity. Boards are now asking the government to end a school closure moratorium put in place in 2017.
Meanwhile, the Greater Essex County District School Board is seeing a number of their schools at or over capacity, with over $100-million in deferred maintenance due to a lack of funding. The GECDSB is also facing a deficit of $6.3-million - meaning the board has to be very deliberate about where funding is spent.
In terms of repairs, the GECDSB focuses on items such as life safety systems such as fire extinguishers and fire alarms, the PA system, ventilation, repair to roofs, windows, floors, and parking lot paving's.
Dunlop says the government is currently focused on building new schools.
"We have many school boards that have hundreds of millions of dollars of backlog surplus that we expect that money to be used on the repairs to schools. But we are focused right now on also increasing the number of new school builds, we've doubled the amount of funding for new schools, in fact last year we announced another 60 schools."
She says the moratorium will remain.
"There's no plans right now on removing the moratorium, and we'll continually work with our school boards, I take that information back but there's no plans on removing that at this point."
Shelley Armstrong, the Superintendent of Business and Treasurer with the GECDSB, says while the moratorium is in place, the board has to continue to repair the schools to ensure they're safe.
"We would certainly welcome an opportunity to look at our schools that are underutilized, and you want to match where your schools are with where your students are living. And there are population changes and shifts that happen, and certainly an opportunity to at least examine that and determine whether we need to make a potential change would be helpful."
Armstrong says while the GECDSB does open new schools the need is still there for repairs.
"As we open new schools the cost of deferred maintenance goes down, but then at the same time when you're funding for repairing schools is limited or fixed, those items that maybe were a low or medium priority didn't get attention, then become a higher priority and require attention. So, the need is continually there."
Two new schools opened this past September, including Beacon Heights Public School in Tecumseh which is a kindergarten to Grade 8, and Erie Migration District School in Kingsville which is a kindergarten to Grade 12.
The Financial Accountability Office says about 1,400 schools were over capacity, and that looking at projected enrolment growth, the equivalent of 227 new schools will need to be built over the next 10 years.