Saturday, January 23, 2016

Nine Toronto Catholic schools need 'critical' repairs


Nine of Toronto's Catholic schools are in need of "critical" repairs, and another 82 are in "poor" condition, CTV News has learned.

Documents obtained by CTV Toronto's Naomi Parness show that nine of the Toronto Catholic District School Board's 200 schools are ranked by the province in "critical" condition. Another 41 per cent are ranked as "poor." The ratings mean the buildings need extensive renovations or replacements of core systems.

Ontario schools are ranked by the province using a system referred to as the Facility Condition Index (FCI).

The rankings are calculated as a percentage, which is the total value of replacement costs compared to the total value of replacing the entire building. For example, if a school needs $10 million in repairs, and its value is $20 million, its FCI is 50 per cent.

Schools with an FCI of less than 10 are considered "good," while those at 65 or higher are "critical."

CTV Toronto obtained the rankings, which showed that nine schools are at 65 or above. Another 82 schools fall between 30 and 65, receiving a ranking of "poor."

According to the rankings, the worst school in the TCDSB is St. Michael's Choir School, a semi-private boys' school in Toronto's Garden District. Its ranking is at 220.

"With aging facilities, you have to monitor them constantly, regularly and frequently," Superintendent of Facility Services Maia Puccetti told CTV during a tour of the school.

She said the school has an antiquated heating system and its windows need to be replaced.

"The actual building structure in terms of bricks and mortar needs to be redone," Puccetti said.

The board is advocating to completely replace the school, saying that the cost to repair it is now more than the cost to rebuild.  (more...)


No comments:

Post a Comment