Two provincial politicians are calling for change after a school in Waterloo, Ont. closed due to structural concerns.
Elizabeth Ziegler Public School first closed on March 3 while an engineering team was brought in to assess damage to the building’s façade. The team determined no one should be allowed inside the building until a final report could be presented to the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB) in late April or early May.
When students returned after March break, their classrooms had moved into a dozen portables brought onto the site. Other students were sent to nearby schools to continue their studies.
The school board later announced Elizabeth Ziegler Public School would remain closed for the 2025/2026 school year and students would be moved to Sandowne Public School instead.
Waterloo’s NDP MPP Catherine Fife penned a letter to the Minister of Education, cosigned by Kitchener Centre MPP and Ontario Greens Deputy Leader Aislinn Clancy, calling for a review to the funding formula for school infrastructure.
“The closure has highlighted broader issues with the current state of school infrastructure funding, particularly how the school renewal fund is outdated and inadequate to meet the needs of our aging schools,” the letter reads.
The document references a report from the Financial Accountability Office (FAO) published late last year. The report estimated that WRDSB had a $178 million backlog for school infrastructure needs. According to the FAO, as of March 31, 2024, 55 WRDSB schools were below a state of good repair.
“As other schools face similar challenges, it is clear that robust and sustained investment in school buildings is needed to ensure they are safe, functional, and conducive to learning. Older buildings like Elizabeth Ziegler, which is a heritage property, require special attention to maintain their safety and functionality; however, the current funding model is inflexible and does not adequately address these unique needs,” the letter from Clancy and Fife said.
The pair noted schools also offer employment opportunities and renovating and updating buildings creates work for construction teams, engineers, architects and contractors.
“The inflexible funding formula for both operations and capital projects is a broken model that negatively impacts students’ learning experience. I urge you to review and adjust the funding structure to better support our schools and their communities. Also, school boards need support to cover the costs of additional transportation and portables they are facing due to the unsafe school being closed. We hope you will reimburse the WRDSB so they do not have to face additional budgetary strains,” the letter continued.
With reporting from Colton Wiens and Heather Senoran
