$9 million to fix local schools

NEWS RELEASE

DAVID ORAZIETTI, MPP

************************* Orazietti announces over $8 million to improve school infrastructure in Sault Ste. Marie

McGuinty government continuing to improve learning environment for local students

SAULT STE. MARIE, On - (January 12) - The McGuinty government continues to improve the learning environments in Sault Ste. Marie with $8,838,390 in new funding to help local schools with needed repairs and renovations including new windows, boilers and roofs, as well as upgrades to facilities like science labs and auditoriums David Orazietti, MPP announced today.

“In addition to providing significant resources to construct new schools for the first time in decades, our government is continuing to invest additional funding to upgrade existing education facilities in Sault Ste. Marie,” said Orazietti. “This investment will support our community’s students for generations to come by improving their learning environments and by providing a boost to the local economy through increased construction activity.”

Under the fourth year of the government’s Good Places to Learn program, local school boards in Sault Ste. Marie will receive the following new funding to help them continue to improve school buildings and ensure that all students have safe and supportive learning environments:

- $5,786,923 for the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board

- $3,051,467 for the Algoma District School Board

“By investing in better schools for our students, we’re helping them to succeed and reach their full potential,” said Education Minister Kathleen Wynne.

Since 2005, this initiative has been improving the condition of schools across the province.

Under the first three stages of the program:

- The Algoma District School Board received $20,980,474 to undertake various school improvement projects.

- The Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board received $6,078,543 to undertake various school improvement projects.

In addition to the Good Places to Learn program, other education infrastructure funding includes:

- $44.8 million to the Algoma District School Board to construct a new secondary school and a new elementary school.

- $6.2 million for the expansion of Notre-Dame-des Ecoles.

McGuinty government investments have also boosted local per pupil funding by 37 percent since 2004 - a remarkable $22,702,452 increase in funding for Sault Ste. Marie schools in just five years.

Quick facts

- Since 2003, more than 200 new schools across Ontario have been opened or are under construction, with plans for an additional 100 schools underway.

- To date, almost 12,000 renewal projects are underway or completed in schools across the province.

- The total provincial investment in the Good Places to Learn initiative is $4.8 billion.

- Investments continue to increase significantly while there are about 100,000 less students in Ontario schools since 2003.

Learn more

To learn more about how Good Places to Learn is renewing Ontario’s schools, please click here.

To read the government’s vision for education, please click here.

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