More than half of London region schools need major repairs, Ontario's fiscal watchdog says

London and area schools are among the most overcrowded in Ontario, and more than half of them need major repairs to get them in proper working order, a new report from Ontario's fiscal watchdog warns.

The Financial Accountability Office report, released Tuesday, warns that the Thames Valley District School Board needs $490 million over the next decade to build new schools to address capacity issues, enough to accommodate more than 8,700 additional students expected by 2033. 

The board, which has schools in London and Oxford, Elgin and Middlesex counties, is the third-fastest growing in the province at a rate higher than the provincial average, the report states. 

"We've been watching this growth for a long time, and we've seen the concerns coming from it because as the numbers of students increase, the staff continue to stay the same or decrease," said Mary Henry, president of CUPE Local 4222, which represents secretaries, custodians and early childhood educators with the board. 

"It's a concern on many levels because the enrollment keeps growing and growing, and we can't keep up." 

Millions needed to repair schools

Among the findings from the report, which looked at building conditions, student capacity and capital budgeting: 

• Just over half (52.5 per cent) of schools in the Thames Valley board — 84 of 160 schools — are not in a state of good repair, the second-highest share in the province, preceded only by the Toronto District School Board. Those schools need repairs such as a new roof, windows, boilers, or HVAC systems, a spokesperson for the financial accountability office said. 
• 40 per cent of schools in Thames Valley, or 65 schools, are over capacity, second only to the Durham District School Board.
• The Thames Valley District School Board is growing at a rate above the provincial average, the third-fastest growing board in the province. 
• The Thames Valley board would need $490 million over the next decade to build new schools to fix capacity issues, including to accommodate the 8,700 additional student spaces that will be required by 2033.  
• The board needs $918 million over the next decade to clear an infrastructure backlog of $353 million as of March 31, 2024, and an additional $565 million to maintain a school in a state of good repair. 
• 94 per cent of schools in Thames Valley have utilization rates - the number of enrolled students per instructional space - that are above the provincial average. The provincial average is 87.6 per cent. 

The province would need to build the equivalent of 227 new schools all over Ontario at a cost of $9.8 billion over 10 years to create enough student spaces to fit all students. Overall, there's a $12.7 billion shortfall over 10 years in capital cash from the province. 

"Every five years, the Ministry of Education assesses its schools. They have engineers and building experts go in and figure out what needs to be fixed and quantify that, so we've looked at that information and estimated what schools are in a state of good repair and what schools are not in a state of good repair," said Jeffrey Novak, the financial accountability officer who worked on the report. 

"You need to figure out where the most effective place is to put your dollars, to bring them into a state of good repair." 

The Thames Valley board has a backlog of repairs that need to get done and not enough money to do them, said Carlos Henriquez, the manager of capital projects and an engineer with the board. 

"We've been very aggressive with our requests to the ministry for new schools and new construction," he said. 

Three schools are under construction, four are being designed, and a major addition at Eagle Heights Public School is wrapping up, he said. "We know there are lots of enrolment pressures across the region and our planning department and board of trustees are active with approving long-term accommodation plans." 

The chair of the board of trustees, Beth Mai, did not return phone calls or emails for comment. 

Henry said it's important to keep schools in good repair and not exceeding capacity, which means portables or kids going to schools not in their neighbourhood. "We have more students coming in, which is fantastic, but you also need to keep the staffing updated to match the students that are in the building," she said. 

Boards have been urging the government to lift a school closure moratorium that was put in place in 2017, saying that seven years later, it is putting a strain on their budgets and resources.

Education Minister Jill Dunlop says in a statement that the province has doubled the funding to build and expand schools and cut construction timelines in half, with 240 new schools under construction.