The Ontario government is ensuring that students in the Greater Sudbury area will have safe and supportive learning environments by providing $6.2 million in new funding to local school boards through the Good Places to Learn program, Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci announced.

“We continue to improve students’ learning environments in order to help them reach their full potential,” said Bartolucci. “By investing in education today we are paving the way for a stronger Ontario tomorrow. We see extremely high returns when we invest in our kids and when that happens, we all benefit.”

Catherine McCullough, Director of Education for the Sudbury Catholic District School Board thanked Mr. Bartolucci and the government of Ontario for the funding announcement under the Good Places to Learn program. “As we can all attest to, as our schools age and the costs of repairing and updating our buildings continues to rise it places a tremendous strain on school board budgets in order to ensure that our students have a safe, clean and healthy working environment,” stated McCullough. “Today’s funding will definitely help our board with the repairs to our older schools with respect to the purchase of new boilers, the repairing of roofs, replacements of windows and upgrades to our facilities especially our science labs and gyms.”

The funding announcement was presented at a news conference held at the Sudbury Catholic District School Board’s Catholic Education Centre on January 19, 2009.

According to Bartolucci the investments in school infrastructure will strengthen the economy and create jobs and position students for success:

The Sudbury Catholic District School Board will receive $1,140,962 in funding under the fourth stage of the Good Places to Learn program.

Since 2005, the Good Places to Learn program has been improving the condition of schools in Greater Sudbury and across the province. To date, local boards have received over $57 million to undertake necessary projects:

• The Conseil scolaire de district catholique du Nouvel-Ontario, $14,670,031
• The Rainbow District School Board, $22,111,600
• The Sudbury Catholic District School Board, $14,698,966
• The Conseil scolaire de district du Grand Nord de l’Ontario, $5,819,670

The total provincial investment to date in the Good Places to Learn program has been $4.8 billion.

“The McGuinty government recognizes that building and improving school facilities creates safe and engaging places for our students to learn and grow,” said Bartolucci. “Every single project helps to strengthen our communities and supports the future of Greater Sudbury.”

Quick Facts

• Since 2003, more than 200 new schools across Ontario have been opened or are under construction, with plans for an additional 100 schools underway.

• To date, almost 12,000 renewal projects are underway or completed in schools across the province.