Schools need $1.3B in deferred upkeep

REGINA Saskatchewan’s school divisions have a maintenance backlog valued at more than $1.3 billion, as aging schools wait for postponed work on roofs, boilers and other infrastructure.

The NDP said the deferred maintenance number — which it obtained from the government in committee — proves education infrastructure is in a “sad state of repair.”

The party’s education critic, Carla Beck, called it “shameful.”

“Not investing in it doesn’t make it go away. In fact, it actually exacerbates the problems.”

She said holding off on maintenance could force emergency repairs down the road. That will end up costing more by consuming money that could be invested more sustainably, she added.

Justice Minister Don Morgan, who was filling in for Education Minister Gord Wyant on the file during question period, faulted the NDP for closing 176 schools during its last tenure in government.

“The NDP record of repairing schools was closing them,” he said.

He noted that the Saskatchewan Party government put into place a preventive maintenance fund to stay on top of costs, while the previous NDP government provided “not a red cent.”

The province committed about $56 million to preventive maintenance, renewal and emergency funding for education in its last budget. Morgan said that number has continuously increased. He said the government’s goal is to boost its contribution to the point where it reaches one per cent of the total cost of all facilities.

Beck countered that the government should double the maintenance budget from one per cent to two per cent of the asset value.

Morgan noted that some schools in Saskatchewan have been around for a century, and need replacement of boilers, roofs and windows. But he said school divisions try to prioritize to ensure that students always have a safe and healthy place to learn.

“We try and make sure that we do the best we can to have schools that are warm, dry and comfortable,” he said.

He was not able to say precisely how long it would take the province to catch up on the backlog.

“I don’t regard it as necessarily having a big target to catch up on immediately,” he said, adding the province has money available for emergency infrastructure needs.