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

John Dalusong · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 12, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

A study from the Financial Accountability Office (FAO) successful Ontario shows that much than 50 nationalist schools successful Waterloo portion are beneath a authorities of bully repair.

This quality comes arsenic Elizabeth Ziegler Public School successful Waterloo is acceptable to beryllium closed for astir of March implicit information concerns astir the building's facade.

In the study from December 2024, the FAO revealed 55 retired of 123 nationalist schools nether the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) are beneath a "state of bully repair" (SOGR).

According to the report, a gathering that is considered to beryllium beneath SOGR "either requires rehabilitation (repairs) oregon should beryllium replaced with a caller schoolhouse (rebuilt)."

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

• A gathering is successful a authorities of bully repair if it has a information scale of 80 and above.
• A gathering with an scale beneath 80 but supra 20 needs to beryllium repaired.
• A gathering with an scale nether 20 needs to beryllium rebuilt.

The study besides said 7 retired of 48 schools overseen by the Waterloo Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) autumn beneath SOGR.

Report 'does not bespeak existent schoolhouse conditions': associate director

In an emailed statement, Bill Lemon, subordinate manager of concern services astatine WRDSB, told CBC News "this [report's] information comes from the School Facility Condition Assessment Program, which was paused during the pandemic and does not bespeak existent schoolhouse conditions." 

"The adjacent appraisal rhythm for WRDSB volition statesman adjacent year, with astir 25-30 schools evaluated annually," helium said.

The FAO study said that each year, astir 20 per cent of schools are assessed. For WRDSB, that means 24.6 schools should beryllium assessed per twelvemonth — a fig that aligns with what Lemon said successful the email statement.

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

"These funds are indispensable for replacing captious infrastructure that has reached end-of-life, including windows, roofing, flooring, and HVAC systems, arsenic good arsenic enhancing accessibility crossed our facilities," helium said.

Lemon besides said WRDSB volition person a $33-million allocation from the Ministry of Education via the School Condition Improvement (SCI) Grant for 2024-2025, which should let the schoolhouse committee to "address backlogged precedence projects and bring older schools up to existent standards."

Lemon said the WRDSB has invested much than $225 cardinal successful upgrading schoolhouse infrastructure crossed the territory implicit the past 5 years. 

"While backing limitations mean not each prioritized projects tin beryllium completed immediately, we proceed to marque important progress."

Elizabeth Ziegler Public School reopening uncertain

Early past week, WRDSB shut down Elizabeth Ziegler Public School aft information concerns were raised astir the building's facade.

The archetypal announcement connected March 3 said the schoolhouse volition beryllium closed connected March 4 and 5 to let WRDSB module services unit and contractors to behaviour structural testing. The closure was aboriginal extended to the remainder of the week.

On Tuesday, a news merchandise from WRDSB said the closure volition beryllium extended up to March 28. The merchandise besides said students volition beryllium provided learning devices, which they tin prime up astatine the schoolhouse this coming Monday. Device prime up times volition beryllium announced connected oregon earlier March 14. 

"Staff and contractors proceed to enactment tirelessly successful an effort to unfastened the schoolhouse arsenic rapidly arsenic possible," the merchandise said. "Teachers volition thatch synchronously and volition beryllium disposable to students during the regular schoolhouse time hours connected their Google classrooms."

CBC K-W reached retired to WRDSB to inquire if Elizabeth Ziegler Public School is among those successful the portion considered to beryllium beneath SOGR. WRDSB did not code the question successful the email response.

The FAO study indicates that arsenic of March 31, 2024, nationalist schools successful Waterloo portion look an infrastructure backlog of $178 million, and an further $401 cardinal is needed to support schoolhouse buildings supra SOGR. The full 10-year outgo to wide infrastructure backlogs and keep Waterloo portion nationalist schools successful SOGR amounts to $579 million. 

Catholic schools successful Waterloo region face a overmuch smaller infrastructure backlog of $5 million, arsenic good arsenic an further $86 cardinal to support buildings supra SOGR, according to the report. The full 10-year outgo to wide infrastructure backlogs and support WCDSB schools successful SOGR sits astatine $91 million. 

The FAO study said with the backlog positive the outgo of keeping schools successful a authorities of bully repair estimated to beryllium $21.7 million, and the 2024 fund being lone $12.5 million, the fig of schools beneath SOGR for the entirety of Ontario is expected to get worse.

"If funded astatine this level, the FAO estimates that aft 10 years, the percent of schoolhouse buildings that are not successful a authorities of bully repair would summation from 37.4 per cent successful 2023-24 to 74.6 per cent successful 2033-34," the study said.