Article content

With deferred maintenance costs now at $1 billion in public schools, parents say Calgary students are facing increasingly challenging environments, from eating lunch on old, dirty floors, bundling up in classes with leaking windows, or avoiding unsanitary washrooms in disrepair.

“Schools are not just overcrowded, they are poorly maintained,” said Barb Silva, spokeswoman for the Support Our Students advocacy group. “This is something we’ve been concerned about since 2015. But as more work continues to be ignored, the costs just keep escalating.”

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or From dirty washrooms to leaky windows: CBE is $1 billion behind in maintenance Back to video

With two kids at an inner-city elementary school, Silva says her son arrives home at least once a week feeling ill with a stomach ache because he avoids using washrooms that are dirty.

Silva adds that the school’s students, like many throughout the city, are eating lunch on old, dirty floors in hallways and gymnasiums. “That becomes a serious health concern.”