Montreal's school boards get millions for infrastructure

Quebec's education minister has announced an infrastructure investment of $367 million inQuebec's schools.

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The money is being distributedto several school boards.

The English Montreal School Board will be receiving $9.1 million for 36 projects.

The Lester B. Pearson School Boardwill receive $7.2 million for 11 projects.

Michael Cohen, the spokesperson for the EMSB, said that despite the millions the school board will have to invest in repairing and updating its infrastructure, it could use more.

"Even though it sounds like a lot of money, in our board alone we have 70 buildings," Cohen said. "You could probably quadruple what they are giving us and it wouldn't be enough. We have to prioritize."

Suanne Stein Day, chair of theLester B. Pearson School Board, said that preventing future problems was a focus for her board.

"We're very fortunate our buildings are in very good condition,"SteinDay said. "So we go for places where we can get the most bang for our buck."

Stein Day said that the board willinvestin windows, bathrooms and foundations to ensure mold does not become an issue in theirschools.

In the coming months, the school boards will be submitting their proposals fornext year'sprojects.