The record number of schoolyard redevelopment projects funded by Quebec this year is just “window dressing,” say school administrators, while renovations of play spaces will have to be postponed due to budgetary restrictions imposed by the Legault government.
Quebec announced Monday a sum of nearly $30 million dedicated to the beautification of 310 schoolyards, a peak compared to previous years.
However, this investment comes in a context where in mid-September Quebec imposed spending targets in the investment budgets of school service centers for the current year, which forces the postponement of certain school renovation projects. school, purchase of equipment or redevelopment of playgrounds, confirms the Federation of School Service Centers of Quebec.
The situation varies from one service center to another, but in some cases, almost all of the capital expenditure planned for the rest of the year had to be postponed since the expenditure ceiling had already been reached when the ministerial directive has been transmitted, indicates its deputy president and CEO, Dominique Robert.
These budgetary restrictions are added, moreover, to a reduction of $400 million in the sums devoted this year to school renovations, also called “asset maintenance” in school jargon.
“Powder in the eyes”
This is what made Nicolas Prévost, president of the Quebec Federation of Educational Institution Directors, say that the record sums devoted to schoolyard renovations only represent “window dressing” in the context current.
Schoolyard redevelopment projects had to be postponed very recently due to these budgetary constraints, particularly at the Beauce-Etchemin School Service Center, according to our information.
“Yes, this government has invested a lot in new schools and major renovations, but behind that, we are cutting corners. In four, five years, we will experience a crisis again in our schools” because we will not have been able to maintain them properly, adds Mr. Prévost.
These budgetary constraints force school service centers to favor renovation projects that have an impact on the “health and safety” of students, specifies Dominique Robert.
“It’s clear that this disrupts the entire work schedule,” he says.
School service centers have also had to decree a freeze on furniture and equipment spending to meet new government spending targets, reported The Journal recently.
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