Teachers welcome the British Columbia government's review of the funding formula for public education. While inevitably suffused with technicalities, this exercise is fundamentally an opportunity to ensure that schools and classrooms reflect both the needs of students and, more broadly, British Columbia's values as a society. It is a chance to…

British Columbia's review of the funding model for public education has produced a flawed result via a flawed process. The only reasonable next step is for the government to immediately halt the implementation of a new funding model and return to the drawing board. Consultation with education system stakeholders has ended without the Ministry of…

This article looks at some of the issues and possible responses for funding in special education, with a focus on the author's experiences as a special education teacher in Manitoba. Issues include making necessary changes to align funding with changes in policy, the problems associated with several different funding models, and the practicality…

This report describes the methodology used by the Ministry of Education to calculate per Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) student funding for independent schools and discusses the underlying inequities when the public school funding formula is applied to funding for private schools. Vancouver school district is provided as a case example to work through…

This article describes a study that examined the volume of secondary course failure and its direct budget impact on Ontario's K-12 public education system. The study employed a straightforward, descriptive accounting method to estimate the annual expenditure tied to secondary course failure, taking into account some factors known to be…

British Columbia teachers are pleased to have an early opportunity to present their views on priorities for the 2020 provincial budget to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services. The British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) represents 43,000 teachers and associated professionals in public schools across British…

The educational needs of migrant-background students in primary and secondary schools pose a growing challenge for policymakers and educators around the world. Some national, regional, and local governments have well-designed systems of support for such students, while others are just beginning to establish targeted policies and practices to meet…

In many school districts, rural life in British Columbia continues to be a geographic and economic fact. Delivering equal school services and ensuring equal educational opportunities to areas with thinly scattered populations continues to be a challenge for the provincial government and school districts. Rural schools offer many positive benefits…

Universities began operating in the present borders of Canada in 1802. As annual enrolments grew to 1,147,233 in 2012, so too did university expenditures. Government contributions to university revenues fluctuated from 62% in 1920 to 46% in 1935, reaching a high of 81% in the mid- to late 1970s, then falling to 48% in 2014. Annual university…

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended life for students, teachers and everyone connected to public schools. The crisis has also exposed the fragilities of the economy in meeting the basic needs of all and highlighted the importance of the public sector, of community, and of care work. Schools are key public spaces of community and care. They must be…

The 2013 federal Budget was delivered ironically the same day as the Parliamentary Budget Officer was in court seeking more information about the impact of the government's $5.2 billion in spending cuts announced last year. The lack of budgetary transparency and accountability has become a hallmark of the Conservative government. Anyone expecting…

The fiscal climate of restraint in the Canadian province of Ontario has led to increased calls for a more diversified higher education system. Significant diversity in the university sector in Ontario has not been achieved that underscores the importance of understanding government policy and its related influences on institutional diversity. This…

How do other countries fund their public schools? Through an analysis of common traits, such as the total percentage of funding for education in relation to the annual gross domestic product (GDP) and the annual per-pupil expenditures (correlated to the U.S. dollar), one can start to develop a clearer perspective on basic school-funding…

Teachers and the British Columbia (BC) government share a common interest in a quality education system that serves both their students and society. Even with that common interest, they often do not agree on what resources are required to achieve and maintain quality education. In this brief the British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF)…

The purpose of this study was to compare the foundation allocation and three special allocations for special-needs students, ESL students, and students with low socioeconomic status in Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia to see what these special allocations look like as vertical equity measures. Because stronger measures are needed if…