A Fair Question for the Chair of the HWDSB Attention: Mr.Todd White Chair HWDSB In September of this year 2014, The Fraser Institute released the following report; Financial Savings: Restructuring Education in Ontario Using the British Columbia Model Its a bit of tough slog with all of the facts and figures, however it provides very useful information on how education is funded across the country. The executive summary provides an overview that is particularly enlightening with regards to our ongoing struggles with declining enrolment and school closures. The body of this report also details where true savings may be found through the various scenarios that the team offers up. However these scenarios will never see the light of day given the lack of political courage to implement them. So we are left with the scenario of school closures and the reduction of teachers as the principal way of saving money, while the administration of our Education systems continues to balloon along with unnecessary capital spending and transportation costs just to name a couple. Since 2002 the HWDSB has closed and liquidated 40 schools and properties and plans to close another 20. I think that its a fair question to ask the Chair of the Board, Mr Todd White, where are the promised savings? Excerpts from the Executive Summary of the Fraser Institute Report. Public education spending in Ontario for the decade from 2001/02 to 2010/11 (the years for which comprehensive and comparable data were available) increased from $15.2 billion to more than $24.5 billion, while the number of students in publicly funded schools declined from 2.16 million to 2.05 million. Thus, while public school enrolment declined by more than 5 percent, public sector education spending increased by more than 60 percent. Stated another way, per pupil public education spending increased 69.5 percent over the decade, from $7,047 to $11,946 per pupil. .....education spending appears more restrained in British Columbia. From 2004/05 to 2010/11, per pupil education expenditure was less than for Ontario. While public enrolment declined in British Columbia by 8.8 percent from 2001/02 to 2010/11, total public education spending increased 22.6 percent for the same period, or put differently, per pupil public education spending increased 34.5 percent for the period, half of the proportional increase of Ontario. British Columbia’s structure and funding of education is different from Ontario’s and may hold a financially viable way forward for Ontario. British Columbia is one of seven Canadian provinces that does not fully fund and operate denominationally based Roman Catholic schools, and is one of five Canadian provinces that partially fund independent schools which include, but are not limited to, Roman Catholic schools. Gary Santucci Hamilton, Ontario fraserinstitute.org/uploadedFiles/fraser-ca/Content/research-news/research/publications/financial-savings-restructuring-education-in-ontario-using-the-british-columbia-model.pdf
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 05:18:02 +0000
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