The Ford government has increased the number of blue signs announcing provincial spending that school boards must erect for infrastructure projects.

The large “Ontario Builds” signs, which are a similar blue to the Progressive Conservative brand, are on display in hundreds of schools across the province.

The signs are paid for using the same stream of public dollars used to fund new schools and the school improvement projects they are supposed to promote, meaning they are built into the projects’ budgets. Manufacturing and installation costs vary from council to council, costing over $25,000 in total in the case of one council.

The leader of Ontario’s official opposition, however, called the increase in promotional displays, outlined in a directive from the Ministry of Education earlier this year, “deplorable,” at a time when many boards schoolchildren are feeling a financial crisis.

In early February, the Ministry of Education informed Ontario school board leaders of “updated requirements,” meaning more signs would be installed in schools where the provincial government has approved school plans. investment financed by taxpayers.

“Ontario Builds signage will now be required for renovation projects… supported by provincial investments exceeding $250,000 or with a project duration of 90 days or more,” says an assistant deputy minister of Education in a note dated February 5.

School boards were also instructed to install a sign at a school within 60 days of approval of a capital project and to keep it in place “for at least 90 days” after its completion.

“All expenses related to Ontario Builds signage, such as design, production and installation, are the responsibility of the school board and may be considered a capital expenditure,” the Ministry of Education directive states. ‘Education of February 5.

The sign-posting frenzy that followed led some signs to display them in almost every school, nine of them said. The Trill.

For example, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board (SCDSB) “currently has signage at each school site, as we have either completed a project or are planning an upcoming project at each location,” said a spokesperson. word of the council. “That would make 16 panels total for the school year plus one to come,” which would cost the SCDSB “a little over $7,000,” its spokesperson said.

At the Near North District School Board, a spokesperson confirms signs for Chippewa Secondary School, Humphrey Public School, Land of Lakes Public School, MT Davidson Public School, Parry Sound Public School, Phelps Central Public School, Vincent Massey Public School, and West Ferris High School. School, White Woods Public School and Woodland Public School.

The large blue signs cost school boards between $100 and $1,000 each to produce and install in schools, according to those who responded to questions about them.

The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the largest school board in the country, said a few weeks ago that they have installed 253 signs so far, keeping their cost at around $100 each thanks to their staff. These panels cost a total of over $25,000. In a report earlier this yearThe TDSB estimated it would need to install about 400 panels across its nearly 600 schools, but the board said that number could change.

The Durham District School Board (DDSB) said it cost it $1,000 per sign to order and install the Ontario Builds signs, and it will install up to 25 in its 135 schools this year , although there are other “renovation projects” that will require signage.

The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) said it installed 45 panels for school renovation projects this year, costing $134.52 each, or about $6,000 in total. TVDSB, which brings together approximately 160 schools in London, Ontario. and surrounding area owned, put in seven more for new schools or school additions, costing $554.86 per sign, or nearly $3,900 total.

Ash Milton, a spokesperson for Infrastructure Minister Kinga Surma, said Ontario Builds’ signage costs vary depending on the type of board order. More sturdy standing signs, driven into the ground, can cost “around $500,” while other flag-style signs can cost “$200 to $300 depending on size,” Milton wrote in an email .

The Ford government also required similar signs for some of its other infrastructure projects, such as in hospitals, or for Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass, such as Global News reported.

Previous Ontario governments have also required temporary signage promoting infrastructure projects where construction is taking place.

Before “Ontario Builds” signs, the province – since the previous Liberal government – ​​required “BuildON” signs on certain provincially funded project sites.

In December 2020, the Ministry of Education sent a memo to school boards noting the government’s recent introduction of a “new visual identity” for government infrastructure projects and that “Ontario Builds” signs would be required on construction sites for new schools, additions and daycares.

In a question and answer document attached to the memo, the ministry asked school boards to “please remove all ONBuilt signs currently posted.”

“If the work is still in progress and is expected to take more than six months, please consider replacing the BuildON sign with a new Ontario Builds sign using the appropriate model. If the work is completed, please remove the sign,” the document states.

Asked about Ontario Builds’ new school signage requirements, Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles called them a “deplorable waste of money.”

“Every penny a school board has should be spent on services that support our children, not on promoting the party or government in power,” Stiles said Monday.

The NDP leader said she doesn’t think parents are aware that school boards have to pay for these signs, adding that she finds it particularly problematic given the financial challenges many school boards face.

More than 40 percent of school boards are reporting budget shortfalls this year, government officials told a legislative committee last month. The Ontario Public School Boards Association said this “status quo is unsustainable.”

“Especially at a time when our school boards and schools are under such stress and our children need so much support that they simply aren’t getting it, it is shameful that the government…is extending this requirement (of signage),” Stiles said. “I don’t think they should cover that at all, school boards shouldn’t have to pay for that.”

She said spending on “promotional” materials and advertising should “come from one pot so we can clearly see how much they are spending and on what”.

Premier Doug Ford blasted school boards last week over three ongoing reviews, two of which concern travel spending.

“(School boards) are the first ones to shout ‘they need more money’ and so on, and so on, and we pour money into the school boards, and they party and behave like a bunch of crazy people,” Ford said. , referring to the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board spending $145,000 to travel to Italy and purchase art and the TVDSB for spending approximately $40,000 on a three-day retreat at the Rogers Center in Toronto.

“This is unacceptable. You are elected; we must respect taxpayers’ money,” declared the Prime Minister.

Milton, the infrastructure minister’s spokesperson, said of the timing of the increased spending on signage that “these funds have already been factored into the funding received by school boards.”

“The recent guidance was just to ensure it was used for its intended purpose,” Milton added.

Meanwhile, Liberal MP and House Leader John Fraser said the updated requirement was acceptable “within reason”.

“I think it’s good that governments, in a modest way, indicate the work they are doing on behalf of the people,” Fraser said. “If the requirements we place on school boards and other organizations are costly, then we shouldn’t be doing this. »