What we're seeing right now in #onted is the result of decades of neglected #infrastructure. Even some brand-new schools do not have adequate ventilation systems because they cut corners when building them. 1/x
Public buildings have a lifespan of 50-70 years if maintained properly. Beyond that, the wiring and ventilation systems, to say nothing of the materials used in construction, are old enough to need a total overhaul even if nothing is obviously wrong with them (it will be.) 2/x
But Ontario has been nickel-and-diming school boards at least since the Mike Harris era. Very few schools have had the needed upgrades to their wiring or ventilation systems. Some of the results: 3/x
1) A school I taught at, still in use, was built in 1967 to have air conditioning. Small windows, discoloured plastic and glass, most didn't open. They cheaped out in 1967 and didn't put in AC after all. Result: learning in a soupy sweaty mess for at least 3mo. 4/x
With no air movement in that school, it's at high risk for a Covid outbreak. 2) Mould: The kindergarten teachers and primary wing all had constant headaches and allergies. When they finally open up those walls, they're going to discover decades of mould. 5/x
Because here's the thing: one problem can be fixed relatively cheaply. But if you leave it, not only does that problem get worse over time, but it gives rise to other problems. Each new problem doubles the price of the job. And we haven't talked about the faulty wiring yet. 6/x
Now multiply that across every school in Ontario that is more than 20 years old, OR had corners cut in its construction. I'd be prepared to bet that's 95% of them. They have not been maintained and that means they ARE NOT SAFE. 7/x
Why were they not maintained? Because governments don't get elected on, "We're going to make sure kindergarten teachers aren't exposed to mould." They get elected on things like cutting taxes and making school boards more efficient. 8/x
Neo-liberal (read: Conservative) economic ideology does not account for routine maintenance. Instead, it forces school boards to cut costs in the name of efficiency, and the first thing to go is maintenance that can be put off. 9/x
It's a false economy, of course. Ignoring routine maintenance costs more in the long run. But governments only last a few years, a decade or so at most. That's not generally long enough to suffer the consequences of ignoring routine maintenance. IOW, they don't care. 10/x
So now we come up against a situation where that needed maintenance would actually be keeping people safe from a deadly airborne virus that loves humidity, a situation where excellent wiring is crucial to the ability to deliver programming. And old schools can't handle it. 11/x
But we're so conditioned to the idea of doing more with less that there is no flex in the budget to allow for this. They're either going to have to raise taxes to cover the cost, or go with deficit financing, or continue to refuse the upgrades. 12/x
This #Conservative government has chosen the last. They made a nod to repairs that isn't enough money to do more than a dozen schools, and they're not starting repairs even on those. They're not raising taxes and they're blaming all of it on school boards. 13/x
This is not just about one party. It's about the societal ideology that lower taxes is always best, that investments in infrastructure are wasteful spending, that budgets belong to taxpayers (as opposed to citizens and residents.) 14/x
This is the legacy of #Reaganomics: decrepit public buildings unable to handle the current huge challenge facing us. It will lead to the deaths of children and workers in the education field, and the deaths of their family members. 15/15
