Education in crisis: reforms maybe, but problems persist
TORONTO – Like many other commentators (and parents) I too was waiting with bated breath for the big announcements on Education, now a year after the dramatic imposition of a supervisor on eight of the province’s seventy-two (72) school boards. The alleged reason: they were unable, incompetent, or worse, in the handling of their obligations towards students’, parents’ and society’s needs. By they/their, as per the hype, we mean trustees.
Trustees are typically limited to approval of the funds allocated by the province to the educational institutions in each area as per documentation provided them by the Senior Staff, after consultation with Ministry officials. Even there, both Ministry officials and School Board Administrative Staff have “guardrails” to guide their decisions.
Under the former model (changed after the end of Fiscal 2023-24 Grants for Student Needs- “GSN”), school boards and officials were required to justify their expenditures under twenty (20) categories. Three of these included grants of $2.3 billion for school operations, $653 million for Administration and Governance and $21 for Declining Enrolment Adjustment (These are Provincial totals and all numbers rounded).
For academic and fiscal 2024-25, the GSN model gave way to Core Education Funding Projections, wherein the twenty categories were lumped into eight Funding Pillars, presumably for the purpose of providing greater flexibility of use in a “volatile” school environment. The comparables were reduced from five columns to two (i.e. Instead of tracking estimates and actuals over a four-year period, boards were only required to compare the previous year’s “revised estimates” with “current projections”.
In all cases, the money available is always predicated on the number of registered students (Average Daily Enrolment, ADE) “verified” twice a year. Last year, the ADE “attracted” $13,852.00 per student. On a provincial basis the number of students (2,067,362) increased by only 1,304 over the previous year. It is a bouncing ball.
For illustration purposes only, the Toronto Catholic District School Board (under the GSN model) declared an ADE of 89,923 in 2019-20. That increased to a total projected enrolment of 83,026 in 2023-240. That revised upward again to 85,003 (due in part to influx of Ukrainian refugees) only to collapse by 569 the following year – this one.
The point is that requiring the Director (currently also CEO) to have business background change nothing in the formulae above. The Associate Director [for Corporate Affairs, or whatever job titles go to the occupier of the financials that accompany the role] is already the CFO. Switching titles, or giving one of them to the Supervisor, will not result in greater cost savings or efficiencies.
From where do they expect to source the bodies required to improve the ADE, and in so doing improve their bottom line? The fertility and birth rates are dropping like an anvil plunging over a cliff. Trying to “get serious” about compulsory attendance is a pipe dream. What does the province expect of Superintendents for their handsome salaries and benefits?
Scapegoating trustees who may be a “makes me feel good target” but changing dynamics associated with impervious administrators might be more fruitful for the children and their parents.
In the pic below, from left: Minister of Education Paul Calandra, Premier of Ontario Doug Ford and Minister of Finance Peter Bethlenfalvy (photo: Twitter X – @PaulCalandra)
