TORONTO - About 1,000 Ontario schools will become more energy-efficient thanks to a $550-million, two-year program announced Tuesday by Premier Dalton McGuinty.

The 72 school boards in the province will decide which schools will be eligible for the green improvements, which could include more efficient heating and cooling systems, smart thermostats, light occupancy sensors, and high-efficiency windows, roofs and boilers.

"By retrofitting our schools, we're creating jobs while saving energy and money, and teaching our kids about greener ways to live," McGuinty said.

The school projects will start this summer after classes end in June, he said, and will help create about 5,500 temporary jobs.

The money comes from the government's $32-billion infrastructure program announced in this year's provincial budget.

The Progressive Conservatives complained the government lacks a detailed plan for the infrastructure spending.

"There is no plan here," said Opposition education critic Joyce Savoline.

"They have to do as they tell others to do and create a plan so there is some transparency for taxpayers to know where these billions of dollars are going to go, instead of continually making one-off announcements."

The government defended its decision to announce the funding without having decided which schools would be eligible for the green upgrades.

"One of the reasons that we wanted to get the announcement out was so boards could plan for those projects and they could be doing them over the summer," said Education Minister Kathleen Wynne.

"The (schools) haven't been chosen. Every board will receive some of this money, and the boards will bring the projects forward."

Wynne said some portables will be eliminated and replaced with new additions to the school, but added some schools could close where enrolment is down, especially if another nearby school gets a green upgrade.

McGuinty also said Wednesday he feels the debate over the future of swimming pools at Toronto schools has gone on too long, and he committed the province to providing capital dollars to keep them open.

"When it comes to the pools, I want to make something perfectly clear: we're there, we are there with the capital dollars," McGuinty said.

"This debate has gone on for long enough, and I think it's time for us to make a specific commitment (and) we're prepared to do that when it comes to the capital dollars."

McGuinty said the private sector, the City of Toronto and local school boards all have a role to play in keeping the pools open.

He defended the funding for Toronto school pools, even though no other school boards in Ontario have swimming pools.

"These pools are serving a broader community use," he said.

Toronto has 79 pools at schools, but has only 30 city-run indoor pools for its 2.5 million residents, so many public swim programs operate in schools.