Education
Executive Council
January 23, 2013

School Repairs and Maintenance Information Posted Online

Information on K-12 school repairs and maintenance, including departmental project approvals and expenditures, will now be posted online.

“We are sometimes asked to provide specific information on the department’s annual repairs and maintenance program as it pertains to roofing, electrical upgrades, window replacements and other routine projects undertaken at schools,” said the Honourable Clyde Jackman, Minister of Education. “By posting this information online, individuals and organizations will have increased access to material of particular interest to themselves and their school communities.”

Project expenditures for the 2011-12 fiscal year (April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012) and project approvals for the 2012-13 fiscal year can be viewed at: www.ed.gov.nl.ca/edu/. Additional projects can be approved throughout the year, as necessary. It should be noted that these repairs and maintenance projects are in addition to minor projects undertaken by the province’s five school districts on a regular basis, and which are funded through annual operating grants provided by the Provincial Government.

Minister Jackman noted this initiative will enhance the Department of Education’s website, which already offers a wealth of detailed information on early childhood education and K-12 programming and services, including annual education statistics and publications which provide school-level enrolment, class size, student achievement data and more.

“Proactive disclosures are a priority for this administration,” said the Honourable Keith Hutchings, Minister of Innovation, Business and Rural Development and Minister Responsible for the Office of Public Engagement. “Our government is committed to identifying documents that are commonly requested and deemed routine in nature, and to make them publicly available. As Minister Responsible for the Office of Public Engagement, I will continue to work with my Cabinet colleagues in this process.”

Since 2004 to the end of the 2011-12 fiscal year, almost $172 million was spent on more than 1,700 repairs and maintenance projects at schools throughout the province. Budget 2012 allocated an additional $29.3 million. This represents the most aggressive repairs and maintenance program in the province’s history.

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2013 01 23                                10:30 a.m.