Local schools will get a $62-million makeover over the next two years.
That’s $25 million more than originally budgeted for the four school boards that service the area, Premier Kathleen Wynne announced this afternoon at Northern Heights Public School.
Wynne is on a week-long Northern Ontario tour.
Northern schools will get $300 million worth of repairs, up $120 million from what the province had budgeted.
Wynne and MPP David Orazietti will host a barbecue at Bellevue Park starting at 5:15 p.m.
The Premier is expected to make a stop in North Bay later this week.
The following is a news release issued today by the province:
*************************
Government Increases Funding by $120 Million to Keep Schools in State of Good Repair
Ontario is investing an additional $120 million to ensure that schools across Northern Ontario remain safe, modern places for students to learn, bringing the total investment for school repairs for the region to $300 million over the next two years.
Premier Kathleen Wynne made the announcement today at Northern Heights Public School in Sault Ste. Marie as part of her week-long visit to more than a dozen communities across the North. Northern Heights is currently undergoing a major refurbishment funded by a previously announced investment for school repairs in the Algoma District School Board. As part of the new investments announced today, the four school boards serving the Sault Ste. Marie region will receive more than $62 million over two years -- nearly $25 million more than originally budgeted.
The $300 million in funding for northern schools will help school boards repair roofs, update HVAC units, and modernize electrical and plumbing systems. It will also help improve parts of schools that directly impact students' daily lives, including walls, flooring, ceilings and playing fields.
The funding to repair and renew Northern schools is part of a provincewide investment of $2.7 billion over two years. This is $1.1 billion more than the government initially allocated.
This funding is part of the largest public infrastructure investment in Ontario's history -- $160 billion over 12 years -- which is supporting 110,000 jobs every year across the province, with projects such as roads, bridges, transit systems, schools and hospitals.
Investing in schools is part of the government's economic plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs. The four-part plan includes helping more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality college and university education. The plan is making the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and transit in Ontario's history and is investing in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. The plan is also helping working Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement.
*************************
