The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario has released seven recommendations to fix Ontario’s education funding formula, it claims has been shortchanging students for 20 years.
ETFO President Sam Hammond says a study of the formula explains why teachers, education professionals and school boards face continual challenges.
The report finds special education funding, programs to support English language learners and students at risk, and funding for school operations and maintenance have all been underfunded for two decades.
Hammond notes “By 1999, the Progressive Conservative government had cut $1.5 billion from education. In today’s dollars that is $2.2 billion. While the Liberal government has increased education funding largely for important new programs, there has effectively been no progress in addressing the funding issues built into the original base formula."
As a result, ETFO is calling for an independant, external review of the funding formula.