The projects were initially approved to create nearly 3,500 child-care spots, which the government says will now be 'reallocated' to other child-care providers
Editor's note: This article originally appeared on The Trillium, a Village Media website devoted exclusively to covering provincial politics at Queen’s Park.
The Ministry of Education document shows there were more than just three school boards offered "25% additional funding," and that while six boards apparently decided to proceed with the projects, another six indicated they couldn't, while two said their decision was "still pending." "Both Toronto Catholic and Toronto District School Boards have indicated a desire for the projects to move forward but have indicated they do not have funding to support identified cost escalations. Therefore the projects were classified as cancelled," the document stated, adding, "it can be anticipated that there will be a strong public reaction to the perceived loss of the child-care spaces.
The two Toronto boards and the provincial government have accused each other of causing delays. The boards said costs increased significantly due to ministry approval delays and inflation and asked the government to cover more than 25 per cent in additional funds. The previous education minister, Stephen Lecce, called this amount a "final" offer.
In March, Toronto District School Board chair Rachel Chernos Lin outlined two scenarios in a letter to Lecce — the board could either build 10 or 15 of the 28 projects that were approved several years ago in underserved areas "pending the authorization to proceed with pooled funding." But the government had previously indicated it wasn't considering pooling funding for the child-care projects.
As for sunk costs, Crawford said this could include costs for getting building permits, and while it's difficult to provide a dollar amount, current estimates would put these costs at around 10 to 12 per cent of the original funding. The Simcoe County District School Board confirmed it didn't go ahead with the child-care project at Chris Hadfield Public School in Bradford "due to a multitude of factors."
A spokesperson for the Grand Erie District School Board confirmed that its two listed projects for Banbury Heights Elementary School and Cobblestone Elementary School are proceeding, with Banbury being tendered in June and Cobblestone expected to be tendered in the fall. "Further conversation with the Ministry of Education indicated that there would be no additional funds available for this project and TLDSB does not have plans to fund any additional costs," spokesperson Carolynne Bull said. "At this point in time, the project is in the design phase and we are working with the ministry on the next steps."
Carolyn Ferns, public policy co-ordinator with the Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care , said that while new schools are needed, she thinks the funding allocated for the projects should go specifically towards child care.
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