Photos reveal poor state of many Montreal schools

Dozen of photos taken by teachers and shared with Radio-Canada show the advanced state of disrepair in classrooms, washrooms and hallways.

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CBC News Posted: Jan 22, 2016 7:08 AM EST | Last Updated: January 22, 2016

Teachers at several Montreal schools sent in photos showing the poor state of maintenance where they work.

Montreal's largest French-language school board, theCSDM,says muchof the disrepairdepicted in photos taken at 10 of its schools andposted by Radio-Canada on Friday hasbeen repaired or isin the process of being fixed.

The 20 photos were part of a collection of60 receivedfrom teachers at 10 schoolsin recent months thatshowedthe advanced state of disrepair in classrooms, washroomsand hallways.

The school board responded to thepublication of the photoswith a statement sayingmore than 200 major repair projects at its schoolshad either been completed, were underway or are scheduled during the next 12 months.

"This is possible thanks to the support of a multidisciplinary team that works every day to offer our students and staff a healthy and safe learning and working environment," the CSDM said.

'Very aware there's work to do'

Radio-Canada said CSDMpresidentCatherine Harel-Bourdonhadseentheimages prior to their publicationand said she is "very aware that there's work to do in our schools."

"We can't leave children in these conditions. Schools need to be prioritizedand invested in on a massive scale," she told Radio-Canada.

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The CSDMis facing a maintenance deficit that's estimated at $1 billion. The boardhas $85 million per yearfor 10 years forbuilding maintenance, but Harel-Bourdon says the school boardneeds at least $150 million per yearover the same periodto do the necessary work.

Below are 20 photos sent in by teachers for different schools. The teachers asked to remain anonymous.