Toronto School Board Calculates Pending Repairs of $3.4 Billion

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The Facility Condition Index revealed by the Toronto District School Board has unveiled a $3.4 billion repair backlog as it reported on the conditions of almost 600 schools. The report has come at time when the Ministry of Education is anticipated to release the same information for every school in the province.

The TDSB’s report released on Monday also enlists all repairs needed at each of the 588 schools governed by the body. The index released by the board often serves as a litmus test for bricks and mortar of its school and this time it has come around the time board has claimed it needs to spend $3.4 billion to complete repairs. In his remarks, TDSB chair Robin Pilkey admitted that recent $1.1 billion funding announcement by the province is helping but he stressed that there is need for so much more.

Pilkey explained that “there isn’t enough money in the system right now. We can only get money from the province.” He explained that the Facility Condition Index is an industry-standard term that measures the condition of a building and it’s calculated by taking the total cost of repairs, and dividing it by the replacement value of the building. According to Pilkey, the TDSB considers anything below 10 per cent to be in “good” condition but between 10 to 30 per cent is “fair,” while between 30 and 65 per cent is “poor.” Anything higher than 65 per cent is considered “critical.”