COVID-19: Ontario green-lights $500M for school safety

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TORONTO — Ontario is allowing school boards to dip into reserve funds to the tune of $500 million to help improve COVID-19 physical distancing as the province prepares to send two million kids back to nearly 5,000 schools this fall.

The government also says it will spend $50 million to update school heating and ventilation systems, and another $18 million for principal and support staff hires to help administer online learning.

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COVID-19: Ontario green-lights $500M for school safety Back to video

The moves announced Thursday by Education Minister Stephen Lecce come amid growing criticism of the Progressive Conservative government’s back-to-school plan, a blend of school and online learning that will become the new normal when schools re-open next month for the first time since the pandemic forced their closing in March.

Safety – for students and staff – has been a key concern for many, with some critics calling for the school year’s start to be delayed and Ontario’s four major teacher’s unions alleging the province’s back-to-school plan violates its own occupational health and safety legislation.

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The unions have asked for a meeting with the labour minister and others  to discuss the issue by next Friday, two weeks before school is scheduled to begin.

They argue there is a lack of scientific consensus on significant aspects of COVID-19 and as such, the province is required under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act to implement all reasonable measures to reduce the risks posed by the virus.

They allege the provincial plan fails to provide adequate health and safety protections such as smaller class sizes, minimal measurable standards for ventilation in schools, and mandatory masking for younger children.

The unions — the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation — represent more than 190,000 teachers and education workers.

REACTION: WHAT OTHERS SAID

“While we are awaiting details to see how the announcement will impact the (board), we are encouraged about the additional clarity regarding remote learning logistics, upgrading school infrastructure and increased access to technology.”

– Linda Staudt, education director, London District Catholic school board

“The back-to-school plan “has not been planned with space, students, teachers and the reality of classrooms in mind. They need to get it right before it is too late. How will social and physical distancing occur when some schools have no space to begin with? I am perplexed as to how these students will be able to physically distance.  Ventilation and air quality is another story.  I believe the government is slightly ambitious here.”

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– Isha Decoito, associate education professor and online learning specialist, Western University

“Lecce’s announcement literally amounts to a reminder that some – not all – school boards have some reserve funds, and they can use them to try to plug some of the massive holes the Ford government has in its bargain-basement, back-to-school scheme.”

– Ontario NDP health critic France Gelinas

“We’re being asked to do a lot in a short amount of time, which is causing a lot of concern and anxiety. The money sounds big, but when you spread that across all boards across the province it isn’t an awful lot. The resources are not up to the task they are asking us to do – they are asking school boards to put in new ventilation systems in three and a half weeks – on average it takes you 19 days to get a work order in.”

– Craig Smith, president, Thames Valley local, Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario

“I don’t think what we heard today is a commitment to returning to a safe and sustainable reopening in this province. It seems to me that most of this is not new funding. It sounds like these are funds already available or sitting somewhere. There is a big question of what this $500 million is. This still falls below much of what has been costed. I’m at a loss as to why we’re not seeing a phased and staggered return to school.”

– Prachi Srivastava, associate education professor, Western University

Compiled by Heather Rivers, The London Free Press