About 85 per cent of TDSB schools are 'below state of good repair,' FAO report finds

8 out of 10 TDSB schools in disrepair: FAO report A new report by Ontario's Financial Accountability Office found 84 per cent of schools in Toronto are below the 'good repair' threshold.

Nearly 85 per cent of schools within the Toronto District School Board are considered to be “below” a state of good repair, according to the province’s Financial Accountability Office (FAO).

In a report released Tuesday, the FAO confirmed that the country’s largest school board took the top spot for the most number of buildings that were in need of rehabilitation or replacement.

As of March 31, 2024, the FAO found that provincewide, about 3,037 schools, or about 63 per cent of schools, are in a state of good repair, while 1,813, about 37 per cent, were below that threshold.

“The 10 largest school boards accounted for 52 per cent of all buildings below (state of good repair) SOGR,” the report noted.

The TDSB was found to have 84.1 per cent of its buildings below a state of good repair, followed by the Thames Valley District School Board at 52.5 per cent, and the Toronto Catholic District School Board at 45.6 per cent.

The cost to bring all school buildings in the province into a state of good repair is estimated to be about $6.5 billion, which includes about $2.86 billion for the Toronto District School Board alone.

“Over the 10-year period, from 2024-25 to 2033-34, as school buildings continue to age and degrade, the FAO estimates that an additional $15.2 billion would need to be spent to maintain school buildings in a state of good repair,” the report continued.

In total, about $21.7 billion would be needed to “clear the infrastructure backlog” and continue to maintain all school buildings from 2024-25 to 2033-34, the report noted.

The TDSB would make up about $6.76 billion of that nearly $22 billion, according to the FAO report.

“In contrast, the 2024 budget has allocated $12.5 billion over 10 years. 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 states.

“By 2033-34, the infrastructure backlog would grow from $6.5 billion in 2023-24 to $22.1 billion.”

The FOA report stated that about 1,781 schools across Ontario require rehabilitation and 32 should be rebuilt.

In a report released earlier this month, Ontario’s auditor general found that TDSB school buildings are in the worst condition of all school buildings in the province and that financial and capital resources are not consistently allocated in the most cost effective or efficient way.

In statement, Ontario Education Minister Jill Dunlop defended her government’s record of spending for schools in the province.

“Our government doubled the funding to build and expand schools to a historic $1.3 billion in a single year and cut construction timelines in half to ensure it no longer takes nearly a decade to build a new school. This is a significant investment and part of Ontario’s $16 billion to build, renew and improve schools over 10 years,” she said in the written statement.

“We have done our part to invest and cut red tape for school boards to build and we need them to do their part and use the public tax dollars to get shovels in the ground faster and fixes required. We are meeting the needs of growing communities with 240 new schools under construction that will create 81,000 pupil spaces in the coming years.”