TORONTO, June 12, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative party won a resounding majority in Thursday's election after promising to restore 'respect for the taxpayer'. Too bad for the 2-million children who attend Ontario’s publicly funded schools that no respect was promised to them.
No mention was made in the PC education platform about the state of Ontario's schools and the $15.9-billion of disrepair in these buildings. And yet, 58 of the newly elected MPPs did sign a commitment to ensure that a Standard of Good Repair is developed for Ontario's schools, that funding will be provided to ensure that these new standards can be met and that the $15.9-billion of disrepair that currently plagues Ontario's schools will be eliminated by 2022.
A full listing of elected MPPs who signed the Fix Our Schools Pledge can be found at: http://fixourschools.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2018_MPP-Elects-Who-Signed-the-Pledge-Sheet1.pdf
Overall, 47% of the MPPs who will be working for Ontarians at Queen's Park in the coming four years committed to ensuring Ontario's schools are safe, healthy, well-maintained buildings that provide environments conducive to learning and working. (30% of elected PC MPPs, 80% of elected NDP MPPs and 43% of elected Liberal MPPs signed the Fix Our Schools Pledge.)
We’re hoping that when the real work begins the new PC government will also respect Ontario's children and fix Ontario's schools.
Press contacts: Stephen Seaborn, Campaign for Public Education – (416) 737-2980
Sent as separate PDF attachment: Fix Our Schools Pledge
http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/a88cbbed-bc37-4fa6-a16a-a6fe52976933
Quotes “The fact that 58 of the newly elected MPPs signed the Fix Our Schools Pledge clearly shows that that school conditions are an important issue. We certainly expect this next provincial government to step-up to address the $15.9 billion in school disrepair and to institute a measurable standard of good repair for the buildings in which 2-million Ontario children spend their days. We cannot allow children in Ontario to attend school in buildings that have crumbling walls, leaking roofs and generally unsafe conditions anymore.” – Krista Wylie, Co-Founder, Fix Our Schools
“We need a province-wide Standard of Good Repair for schools and adequate, stable provincial funding for school boards to meet those standards within a set timeline of four years." - Stephen Seaborn, Campaign for Public Education
fixourschools.ca, founded in 2014, is a non-partisan, parent-led, province-wide campaign working to ensure that every publicly funded school in Ontario is a safe, healthy, well-maintained building that provides an environment conducive to learning and working.
campaignforpubliceducation.ca was founded in 2002 to coordinate efforts of parent, teacher, education worker and ethno-racial organizations in campaigning for needs-based funding for public education.
