Feds, province provide $7M to Sault school boards for COVID-19 protections

Sault Ste. Marie -

Area schools in the Sault looking to add extra COVID-19 precautions will benefit from a funding boost this fall.

In a joint effort between the federal and provincial governments, the Algoma District School Board (ADSB) and Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board (HSCDSB) will receive a combined $7 million to ensure infrastructure is safe and reliable, as kids head back to school in just more than a month.

"As it's been pointed out, we can never have enough health and safety measures in place," said Lucia Reece, director of Education at the ADSB. "We always try to make sure we have healthy and innovative schools for our students to learn in."

The HSCDSB said it would focus its efforts on upgrading schools in districts outside of the Sault, while the ADSB said its share of the funds will help address issues it otherwise couldn't last year.

Both boards said they would be installing better ventilation, touchless water bottle filling stations and other COVID-19-related precautions.

"Typically, these are things that traditionally the federal government wasn't involved with before," said Sault MP, Terry Sheehan. "These were extraordinary times and they called for extraordinary measures."

Canada and Ontario said they would be spending more than $37 million to 35 community infrastructure projects across the province.

According to a provincial press release, Timmins and Sudbury will receive a share of those funds.