The Ontario government has announced it will invest $498 million to build new schools and renovate existing ones.

In a statement released Monday, the province said the money is intended to “provide students with better places to learn while also giving families more options for quality, licensed child care that is close to home.”

Education Minister Liz Sandals made the announcement in Toronto on Monday morning, saying the fund is “part of our ongoing commitment to give Ontario students better buildings for better learning.”

Over the next few months, the province says work will begin on:

30 new schools

26 major additions and renovations projects

122 licensed child-care rooms, resulting in 2,135 new licensed spaces for infants, toddlers and pre-schoolers

Projects within the Toronto District School Board will receive $29 million of the total funds.

Sandals said Davisville Junior Public School and Terry Fox Public School will be among those receiving money for renovations.

The funding will also help Norseman Junior Middle School expand its capacity by 322 students.

“Altogether (these investments) will provide improved facilities and enhanced learning opportunities for more than 1,300 local students, and families will also benefit from increased access to safe, high-quality child care,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Toronto Catholic District School Board’s St. Clement Catholic School and St. Augustine of Canterbury will also receive money to build additions.

The funding is part of the Ontario Liberals’ plan to spend $11 billion over the next 10 years to build new schools in areas where the population is growing and to improve conditions in existing schools.

Since 2003, the province has invested about $13.4 billion in school infrastructure, including building nearly 755 new schools and completing more than 720 additions and renovations.