The areas two school boards got a $10.2 million face lift Tuesday courtesy of the provincial government.
The Upper Grand District School Board will get $9 million and the Wellington Catholic District School Board $1.2 million over the next two years to repair and renew existing schools.
Guelph MPP made the announcement Tuesday at Guelph CVI, the 160-year-old school that is by far the oldest in the two systems.
"This money is urgently needed to help address the backlog of work," said Sandals, flanked by the directors of education from the two boards.
The money will go towards everything from minor physical repairs to doors to new roofs, boiler replacements and window retrofits.
"Some little things, some big things: but all of it is work that needs to be done," Sandals said.
The money is a continuation of money for repairs and retrofits from the province that now totals $32.4 million, Sandals said.
"We know that having a safe learning environment and schools in good condition are crucial to the success of our staff and students," Wellington Catholic Director of Education Tamara Nugent said.
"We've tried our best with the money we have and we've never used renewal money to balance our budget," said Upper Grand Director of Education Martha Rogers.
There are 76 schools in the Upper Grand system and 21 in the Wellington Catholic system.
Paul Scinnoca, the Upper Grand board's Director of Plant Operations, said the money will go towards a growing list of needs.
"Things like hydro, water and heat: if they fail, the school shuts down," Scinnoca said. "There's an awful lot of things to look at. We've got a long list."
The location of Tuesday's announcement was appropriate, given that aging Guelph CVI has seen $1.1 million spent on it in the past two years with another $580,000 slated for next year.
