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Governments approve $27M for Simcoe County school upgrades

School boards applied for the infrastructure funding in the fall, and were informed of the successful applications recently; must spend funds by Dec. 2021
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This morning, the federal and provincial governments announced the recipients of the COVID-19 Reliance Stream fund, and more than $27 million will be coming toward projects in Simcoe County.

The COVID-19 Reliance stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program will deliver $656.5 million province-wide to support individual school board submissions for education-related projects. The fund was first announced in Oct. 2020, and school boards were required to apply for the funding by Dec. 2020.

In Simcoe County, Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MPP Doug Downey and Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop announced this morning that will trickle down to about $17.2 million for Simcoe County District School Board schools, $10 million for Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board schools and $53,800 for the Penetanguishene Protestant Separate School Board.

Funding was also approved for the Mon Avenir school board, which has four schools in Simcoe County. Province-wide, that board will be receiving $8,782,425. The Conseil scolaire Viamonde school board, which also has four schools in Simcoe County, is receiving $11,024,000 province-wide.

“The information shared today is in reference to the investment for school infrastructure projects that was announced by the federal government, via the provincial government, in the fall,” said Sarah Kekewich, manager of communications with the Simcoe County District School Board.

“School boards were required to submit applications for funding to support infrastructure projects by early December. The SCDSB received approximately $17.2 million and will have until the end of December 2021 to utilize the funds and complete approved projects.”

Overall, the federal government is investing up to $525.2 million into the stream, while the provincial government is contributing $131.3 million.

The purpose of the funding is to upgrade infrastructure at local schools to protect against COVID-19, which would include building retrofits, updates and upgrades to schools and co-located child care facilities.

At the Catholic board, manager of communications Pauline Stevenson said upgrades are already underway for a variety of purposes board-wide including hiring additional staff and purchasing equipment for enhanced cleaning, upgraded filters for HVAC equipment and upgrades and air purification (HEPA) units. New portables, window replacements and water-bottle filling stations are also being installed.

“This infrastructure investment makes more upgrades possible, to support and protect both staff and students in our school communities,” said Downey in a news release. “This funding means our children and teachers will be able to return to safer and healthier schools. It has long-term positive impacts, not only for the students of today, but the next generations of students in the years to come.”


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Jessica Owen

About the Author: Jessica Owen

Jessica Owen is an experienced journalist working for Village Media since 2018, primarily covering Collingwood and education.
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