HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-02-24, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2005.
Provincial funding could kickstart school projects
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
An addition of $280 million to the
annual provincial education budget,
announced in rather unorthodox
fashion by the ruling Liberals last
week, should allow the Avon
Maitland District School Board to
"get a kickstart” on its long wish list
of renovation and maintenance
projects.
"This will let us . . . get ahead of
where we thought we would be,”
explained education director Geoff
Williams on Friday, Feb. 18,
following a statement by Perth
Middlesex MPP John Wilkinson at
Romeo Public School in Stratford.
Wilkinson released specific 2005-06
totals for the school boards in his
riding, including $15,736,931 for the
Avon Maitland District School Board
and $1,120,758 for the Huron-Perth
Catholic District School Board.
The key to the funding, he noted, is
that its allocation is based on an
assessment of each board’s needs
rather than a “one size fits all”
approach which caused school boards
to make decisions — including the
closure of schools — “because
they're trying to maximize some
formula that was cooked up in
Queen’s Park.”
And Williams agreed, stating the
Avon Maitland board will be able to
fulfill the accountability requirements
of the funding because it has already
undertaken a comprehensive
maintenance needs assessment called
RECAPP.
The unorthodox nature of the
announcement, however, was evident
in the fact neither Wilkinson nor the
information he had been provided by
the education ministry could
adequately clarify some of the
questions asked by members of the
media and school board officials.
Wilkinson’s news release describes
the annual budget increase of $280
million as an “amortization fund,
available to school boards across the
province, to leverage financing for $4
billion worth of needed repairs,
additions and replacement schools.”
He later referred to it as “a five-year
rolling capital plan” which will more
effectively enable boards to plan
maintenance schedules into the
coming years.
Pressed to explain how the
government’s initial investment will
be made to grow to $4 billion, he
could offer no details. He did,
however, suggest a plan could be
modeled on an existing arrangement
with Ontario municipalities, through
which the best deals on low-interest
financing are made available by
grouping together the borrowing
needs of several governments.
“The minister of finance believes
that, with an increase of $280 million
per year for education, it will allow us
to do about $4 billion worth of needed
repairs and new schools where
th' y’re needed,” Wilkinson said.
Also contributing to some
confusion was the education
ministry's method of describing the
allotment of the 2005-06 funding. In
the information provided by
Wilkinson, the Avon Maitland portion
is described as a “board allocation” of
$1,144,715, and a “repair budget” of
$15,736,931.
That caused Williams to refer to
“$1 million in the first phase and $15
million in the second phase” of this
year's funding. Wilkinson then
stepped in, however, and suggested
all work could begin right away if
necessary; the $ 15.7-million is the
board’s total for this year, while the
$1.1 million is just an initial pay-out
to allow the board to begin work as
soon as possible.
On the provincial Liberal Party’s
website, meanwhile, a news release
from Education Minister Gerard
Kennedy clearly describes the process
through which $280 million came to
be added to the annual provincial
budget. It includes an admission that
this announcement was already made
last year, but back then it was only for
about $200 million.
There’s still no explanation,
however, of how it will be invested
and manipulated to fund $4 billion
worth of renovations and new
construction.
Despite this lack of complete detail
about the school renewal funding,
Avon Maitland business
superintendent Janet Baird-Jackson
Good speakers
Five students from Blyth Public School have advanced to the zone level of the Royal
Canadian Legion public speaking competition. Students from Blyth Public School and Hullett
Central School competed at the local level last Tuesday at Blyth Public School. Advancing to
the zone competition in Seaforth on March 5 are, front row from left: Brandilyn Bearss,
intermediate third; Rachael Snell, primary, third; and Laura Peach, junior, third. Back row:
Grant Sparling, junior, first; Jessica Sparling, intermediate, first; and Belinda Marshall, Legion
appeared comfortable the money will
be made available for the 2005-06
budget.
Asked where the $15 million will
be spent, she immediately rhymed off
three projects — the replacement of
three 42-year-old boilers at Stratford
Northwestern Secondary School; the
installment of energy-efficient
windows at the same site; and the
replacement of a 35-year-old pitch
roof which “we’ve been putting off
because it wasn’t leaking” — which
she said weren’t previously expected
on this coming year’s maintenance
schedule, but could now be added.
Wilkinson also mentioned the
tendency of school boards to put off
necessary maintenance projects,
saying that was a legacy of the
previous government.
“We’ve inherited a tremendous
infrastructure deficit and we intend to
fix that,” said the Perth-Middlesex
MPP.
“The most important factor in
education is the relationship between
students and teachers ... but it’s very
difficult to have that happen when the
school that they’re in has basic
infrastructure problems that aren’t
being addressed.”
youth and education chairperson. (Jim Brown photo)