More than 50 public schools in Waterloo region may need repair, FAO report says

A report from the Financial Accountability Office (FAO) in Ontario shows that more than 50 public schools in Waterloo region are below a state of good repair.

This news comes as Elizabeth Ziegler Public School in Waterloo is set to be closed for most of March over safety concerns about the building's facade.

In the report from December 2024, the FAO revealed 55 out of 123 public schools under the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) are below a "state of good repair" (SOGR).

According to the report, a building that is considered to be below SOGR "either requires rehabilitation (repairs) or should be replaced with a new school (rebuilt)."

This is determined using a "condition index" developed by the Ministry of Infrastructure, which says: 

• A building is in a state of good repair if it has a condition index of 80 and above.
• A building with an index below 80 but above 20 needs to be repaired.
• A building with an index under 20 needs to be rebuilt.

The report also said seven out of 48 schools overseen by the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) fall below SOGR.

Report 'does not reflect current school conditions': associate director

In an emailed statement, Bill Lemon, associate director of business services at WRDSB, told CBC News "this [report's] data comes from the School Facility Condition Assessment Program, which was paused during the pandemic and does not reflect current school conditions." 

"The next assessment cycle for WRDSB will begin next year, with approximately 25-30 schools evaluated annually," he said.

The FAO report said that every year, about 20 per cent of schools are assessed. For WRDSB, that means 24.6 schools should be assessed per year — a number that aligns with what Lemon said in the email statement.

Lemon said the WRDSB is "projected to receive $10.4M through the School Renewal Allocation (SRA)."

"These funds are essential for replacing critical infrastructure that has reached end-of-life, including windows, roofing, flooring, and HVAC systems, as well as enhancing accessibility across our facilities," he said.

Lemon also said WRDSB will receive a $33-million allocation from the Ministry of Education via the School Condition Improvement (SCI) Grant for 2024-2025, which should allow the school board to "address backlogged priority projects and bring older schools up to current standards."

Lemon said the WRDSB has invested more than $225 million in upgrading school infrastructure across the district over the past five years. 

"While funding limitations mean not all prioritized projects can be completed immediately, we continue to make substantial progress."

Elizabeth Ziegler Public School reopening uncertain

Early last week, WRDSB shut down Elizabeth Ziegler Public School after safety concerns were raised about the building's facade.

The initial announcement on March 3 said the school will be closed on March 4 and 5 to allow WRDSB faculty services staff and contractors to conduct structural testing. The closure was later extended to the rest of the week.

On Tuesday, a news release from WRDSB said the closure will be extended up to March 28. The release also said students will be provided learning devices, which they can pick up at the school this coming Monday. Device pick up times will be announced on or before March 14. 

"Staff and contractors continue to work tirelessly in an effort to open the school as quickly as possible," the release said. "Teachers will teach synchronously and will be available to students during the regular school day hours on their Google classrooms."

CBC K-W reached out to WRDSB to ask if Elizabeth Ziegler Public School is among those in the region considered to be below SOGR. WRDSB did not address the question in the email response.

The FAO report indicates that as of March 31, 2024, public schools in Waterloo region face an infrastructure backlog of $178 million, and an additional $401 million is needed to maintain school buildings above SOGR. The total 10-year cost to clear infrastructure backlogs and keep Waterloo region public schools in SOGR amounts to $579 million. 

Catholic schools in Waterloo region face a much smaller infrastructure backlog of $5 million, as well as an additional $86 million to maintain buildings above SOGR, according to the report. The total 10-year cost to clear infrastructure backlogs and keep WCDSB schools in SOGR sits at $91 million. 

The FAO report said with the backlog plus the cost of keeping schools in a state of good repair estimated to be $21.7 million, and the 2024 budget being only $12.5 million, the number of schools below SOGR for the entirety of Ontario is expected to get worse.

"If funded at this level, the FAO estimates that after 10 years, the percentage of school buildings that are not in a state of good repair would increase from 37.4 per cent in 2023-24 to 74.6 per cent in 2033-34," the report said.