Northwestern Ontario school boards get $10.5M from province, Ottawa for COVID-19 response
The federal and provincial governments are providing $10.5 million in total to seven northwestern Ontario school boards to support efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.
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CBC News ·
Posted: Apr 19, 2021 8:30 AM ET | Last Updated: April 19
The federal and provincial governments are providing funds to seven northwestern Ontario school boards to help them slow the spread of COVID-19.(Carlos Osorio/The Canadian Press)
The federal and provincial governments are providing $10.5 million in total to seven northwestern Ontario school boards to support efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Schools in the Northwest are getting a total of more than $10-million from the province and the feds. The funding includes over $1.8-million for the L.
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THUNDER BAY – Parents and students will have a limited window to determine whether or not they want to learn remotely in the fall.
Public board registration opened on Friday and will close in one week. The Catholic board opened registration on Thursday and elementary students will have until April 26 to make a decision. High school students at the Catholic board will have until June 1.
Administrators at both boards said they need as much lead time as possible in order to satisfy agreements with unions and allocate the proper resources.
“The reason why there are tight time frames is that there are staffing implications and the ministry has said they will not fund our virtual schools for the upcoming school year, so it’s very important that we know what those numbers look like so we can staff for the new school year,” said TBCDSB director of education Pino Tassone.
Supplied photo
Schools across northwestern Ontario are getting more money to upgrade their facilities to protect students and staff from COVID-19.
A total of $656.5 million is being allocated as part of a new joint Canada/Ontario funding agreement.
The federal government is investing $525.2 million, while the province is responsible for more than $131.1 million.
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce says the funding can be spent on projects like ventilation, air cooling systems, HVAC upgrades, physical distancing initiatives, installing handwashing stations or touchless faucets and soap dispensers.
The funding is available to install water bottle refilling stations and broadband expansion to support remote learning.