The provincial government will start asymptomatic testing of students and staff in Toronto, Peel, York and Ottawa in a move that could shed some light on the spread of in schools.

But experts and parents say a lot depends on how the program is rolled out in the four Ontario hot spots.

Despite increasing rates of community transmission of the disease, “our remain safe,” Education Minister Stephen Lecce said Thursday.

“The risk within our schools reflects the risk within our communities,” Lecce said at a press conference at St. Marcellinus Secondary School in Mississauga, alongside Premier Doug Ford. “We believe as we see the risk rising in our community, we cannot hope for the best. We’ve got to continuously act.”

The voluntary school testing — among the first such programs in Canada — is meant for students, staff and families over four weeks in areas experiencing the highest number of active cases. But Lecce said if health officials recommend “that it should be expanded or we should augment the list, we will continue to follow that direction and implement it swiftly.”

He added, “We do believe that this program is going to just only further help protect schools” and keep them open.

Transmission of the disease in schools has been a polarizing topic throughout the pandemic, with government and health officials saying schools are safe while some parents, educators and medical experts continue to call for more targeted testing to understand where cases could be missed.

Surveillance testing, in which groups of people without symptoms are tested to get data, has been used in U.S. schools in , and .

Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute and the University of Toronto, said if the province’s announcement is “truly a surveillance program” then it’s a “great idea to see how much COVID is actually circulating in schools.”

If designed well, such testing could actually “detect infection early to prevent an outbreak,” he said. But “obviously, like anything else, the details are important.”

Rachel Huot, an organizer with the Ontario Parent Action Network, said there’s “no question” such a program will help, but added, “It’s just, how strong will it be?”

It is “late” to be starting this testing now, she said, after the province first announced it in August. “We sort of passed a really critical point in our schools, and it’s really light on the details about what it will look like.”

Testing was already under way Thursday at the first participating school, Thorncliffe Park Public School, in one of the hardest-hit neighbourhoods in Toronto, where about 300 of 750 students were tested.

The board is now looking at other schools to participate.

Three Toronto Catholic schools have been selected, and testing will run until Dec. 18.

Speaking before the announcement, Dr. Janine McCready, an infectious disease specialist at Michael Garron Hospital, said the Thorncliffe program is a way to break down barriers for community members, but also a way to understand “what is happening with school transmission,” since kids often of COVID-19.

“There’s so much talk and I don’t think we have as much evidence as we’d really like,” McCready added.

Toronto’s medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, has said the recent resurgence in cases in the city does not appear to be driven primarily by the reopening of schools.

Meanwhile, news of stable education funding grants this year was welcomed by school boards, given that some have had than expected because of the pandemic.

“We were very, very concerned about this and we are really pleased they listened to our concerns and froze funding,” said Cathy Abraham, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association.

Boards would otherwise have lost “a significant amount of money across the province” because students — many of them in junior kindergarten — were expected to attend classes but didn’t, she added.

The Toronto District School Board alone was looking at a $41-million shortfall in its per-student funding.

Ford also announced the province will provide an extra $13.6 million in COVID funding to schools in regions where cases are edging up — Durham, Halton, Hamilton and Waterloo.

But NDP education critic Marit Stiles called the province’s testing announcement “a half-measure.”

“Some students in some regions may be able to get tests,” she said, noting the program lasts only four weeks.

“Ford’s still trying to cheap out on testing students, teachers and staff, and that’s not good enough,” she said.

It will be up to boards to determine where and how to conduct the testing, but rapid tests will not be used.

Kristin Rushowy is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

May Warren is a Toronto-based breaking news reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: