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economist suntribune education saturday april 13 2002 mpjsmibility to supply ctfmicclmsmdtenals fdllsto schools council rv 3 v t s writer ake sales magazine fundraisers silent auo tions raffles and more bake sales with a looming provincial budget cutand cashstrapped sckbpljsoaids forced to find l savings more schools arereiyirig on fundraisers to pur- -chase- what they feel are basic classropmnecessities jediication criticssay 23 bil- uonhasheen slashed from the system smcethe tories came to power seyenyears ago as a rresultjherefes been aloss of pegiizetechers and pro- igramsfanmcrease in class sizes aalfe textbooks and tjjrangfteials they argue- tripsare v being cut aiifrerench classes music and library programs reduced or elirniriatedcritics say fvr v those realities are aclirect result of fadingshortages and-v- meproviricecohttoversial stal dentbased funding formula critics charge a telephone survey conduct ed last fall by enterprise canada research revealed more than 63 per cent of parents feel the gov ernment is shortchanging school boards and should pro vide diem with more money ask result of funding short ages and cutbacks somehigh school students are paying up to 150 ayear in fees for art sup- plies workbooks and school- related activities 1 a recent survey of 130 schools conducted by a parent lobby group revealed 92 per cent of students are using worn or outdated books and about two- thirds share textbooks to compensatemany school councils are raising their own funds to pay for necessities 1 last year school councils provincewide raised approxi mately 33 million almost 30 per cent of that went toward purchasing textbooks comput ers and classroom supplies auroras light of christ catholic school council raised 12000 for textbooks this year oyer thepast few years fundraisirig dollars have been used to purchase teacher and student resources rather than materials to enhance the school library or computer lab council staff photomike barrett sharing textbooks may become more commonplace as funds decrease to purchase books for every student some school officials charge chairperson karen macleod said j the fundamentals of fundraisirig have changed in that were required to carry on to our shoulders the responsibility to supply basic classroom mate- rialsshe said we feel we need todp more butwefeel we cant ask much more from the par- ents were lucky we live in an 1 area where we can afford to fundraise but some schools dont have that advantage mrs macleod said teachers collectively spend almost 65 million a year on classroom materials and sup plies according to the elementary teachers federation of ontario before the funding model there was adequate teacher prep time teacher resources all these things have disappeared said york regions public ele mentary teachers union presi dent david clegg referring to the outofdate funding model he says does not reflect the rate of inflation at the primary level whats needed in the classrooms most teachers have to fund out oftheir own pockets- funding shortages is a- longterm problem that will not be deviated as long as teachers have to continue to provide a bandaid solution by spending money out of their own pock- etshesaid it will be extremely difficult for us to balance the budget if the status quo remains the same the funding model was introduced by the government in 1998 to set aside more money in the classroom and ensure funding equity for all publicly funded school boardsoak ridges mpp frank klees said nonetheless he welcomes a review of the model no one said the funding model isperfect itsa step in the right direction were prepared to look at it and were open to sug gestions he said he acknowledges school boards face financial challenges but disagreesthe model is creat- tag funding shortages generally when you intro- duce change and reform there will be a period of time when you experience difficulty espe- daily when you introduce them all of a sudden mr klees said however i am confident that when the reforms are fully integrated all the problems will level out the ontario public school board association estimates the gap between school board rev eriues and expenditures exceeds 11 billion although botfiyork regions school boards can expect an increase in provincial funding because of their sub- stantial growth school boards will not know how much they will receive from the province until next month at least despite funding challenges york region district school board chairperson bill crothers believes students are receiving a better education today than they did several years ago do we have as much money as wed like to spend no do we have enough money to deliver programs we believe are impor tant yes we do said mr crothers whose board is one of the wealthiest in the province and operates on a 5836million budget were not faced with cut backs but we are faced with looking at the different ways were spending our money he added explaining the board spends about 6105 per sui- dent the present dilemma for most school boards isdetefmin- ing what theyre spending their money on and what is the most appropriate way to spend that money to provide adequate resourcesfor our kids from 1988 to 1997 the york catholic district school board had a deficit that peaked at 323 million although she doesnt believe the board will face a deficit board chairperson elizabeth crowe said it may be difficult for staff to present trustees with a balanced budget it will be extremely difficult for iis to balance thebudget if the status quo remains the same she said the funding model made things tighter financially but i still thinkwere in a better positionthan other boards several years ago the sepa rate school board planned to expand the provincial reading recovery program into every n school but those plans were put on hold as a result of funding shortfalls we havent seen increased dollar amounts since the model came in when the model was developed the government said it wasdeyeloped based on statistical information said mrs crowe whose board oper ates on a 2813ntiilli6n budget almost eritirelyfurided by the province those numbers have not been updatedtoieflect- changes- likethe cost of living until that happehsboards and appointed associations such as the ohtan6 trustees association willcpntin- ue to lobbythegovernmentto restore funding mrsvcfowe said from now until may were in waiting modeand is ejfaemely frustrating i dont jmowwhat were going to do when the num bers come downshe said the model can produce efficiency its just not adequate it could work if there are sufficient dollars but right now there arent