chandrapasma.bsky.social
Running for re-election to be your MPP for Ottawa West—Nepean.
🔸Researcher, policy analyst, and mom to 3 amazing kids.
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This is why we have a growing school repair backlog, and if the government insists on keeping its fingers in its ears and pretending not to see anything, the problem will only keep growing. It’s time for them to start behaving like adults and start properly funding safe and healthy schools. 11/11
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The TDSB needs $2.8 billion just to deal with these urgent and high priority repairs, but they only get $305 million from the province annually for repairs AND new school builds. 10/11
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55% of these repairs are deemed high but are still issues that are critical, they just aren’t “essential to operating the building” – brick work, ceilings, exterior windows. Maybe the building can keep operating, but I still don’t want a ceiling to fall on my kid’s head. 9/11
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With regard to the TDSB specifically, the Board is dealing with a repair backlog of $4.1 billion. 9% of these repairs are urgent – building systems that are important to the operation of the building like boilers or fire alarms are in critical condition. 8/11
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The AG also noted that the Ministry of Education does not always follow its own criteria in deciding which new schools will get funding and does not document the reason why, something the residents of Wasaga Beach already knew. 7/11
www.thetrillium.ca/news/educati...
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No wonder the Conservatives are fighting so hard not to release the size of their school repair backlog! 6/11
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According to the AG, if funding matched the provincial average prior to 2017 and took into account the change in construction costs, funding should have been almost double what it actually was in 2022-23. 5/11
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And just imagine what the impact of inflation has been on construction costs for rural and remote regions where supplies and skilled workers can be harder to access. 4/11
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The AG’s report makes this very clear. Capital funding to all school boards in the province has decreased by 34% since 2017. Meanwhile, construction costs in the City of Toronto alone have increased 54%. So costs are skyrocketing; govt funding is dropping like a rock. 3/11
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The province’s capital grants determine whether or not our school boards have the money to build and maintain safe, health schools. And the short answer is: they don’t! 2/11
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We also need the govt to start showing some respect for the work that teachers and education workers do. No caring adults = no schools. Let’s support and respect the people who support our kids every single day. 19/19
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Building and funding a safe, healthy, supportive environment for our kids will benefit our educators too. It will address the rates of illness and the shortage of qualified teachers created when the govt actively drives teachers out of the system. 18/19
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Sick leave is the canary in the coal mine of how our education system is doing. We need to address the violence crisis, the mental health challenges, the funding cuts, to ensure that all of our children receive the supports that they need. 17/19
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Safety monitors are not replaced 43% of the time. For Child and Youth Workers, it’s 48% of the time. This ends up compounding the violence crisis in our schools. 16/19
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EAs are not replaced 38% of the time. This is despite the fact that EAs play a crucial role in student safety for children with disabilities and special needs. 15/19
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In 2022-23, there were 84,381 times when there was no supply teacher available. In the TDSB alone. Let that sink in. 14/19
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This has increased from one out of every 20 days in 2019. Undoubtedly, this is related to the fact that there are currently more than 46,000 teachers who are certified with the Ontario College of Teachers but not working in education in Ontario. 13/19
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The really shocking details though are on replacements. 20% of the time, there is no supply teacher to cover a teacher’s illness. In other words, for one out of every five days a teacher is sick, there is no replacement. 12/19
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Quick reminder: the Ford government knows that boards don’t determine the cost. But like CPP and EI, which are set by the federal government, they simply can’t be bothered to cover the real cost. It’s cuts by stealth. 11/19
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Meanwhile, Ford has provided only 86% of the actual cost of replacing sick and injured workers. This means that the TDSB, like other boards, has to take resources out of other areas to make up for the cost. 10/19
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The average number of sick days taken by TDSB employees has increased 58% under the Ford government. 9/19
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The use of sick leave is a symptom of the crisis in our education system. A crisis which is literally making education workers and teachers sick. And the numbers paint a very concerning portrait of our education system right now. 8/19