Ontario Liberals plan $500M cut to education funding; will close schools: NDP
TORONTO – The New Democrats say a government document shows the Liberals plan to cut funding for education by half a billion dollars over three years, a move they warn will lead to school closings.
NDP education critic Peter Tabuns obtained a copy of the government’s education funding guide, which calls for permanent savings of up to $500 million by 2017-18, when the province has promised to eliminate its $12.5-billion deficit.
Education Minister Liz Sandals doesn’t dispute the document’s authenticity, and insists that per-pupil funding will continue to increase.
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However, Sandals admits there will be cuts to the education budget, in part because of declining enrolment.
She says there are over 600 schools in Ontario that are more than half empty, and some will close to help meet the Liberals balance the books on schedule.
The NDP say that flies in the face of Premier Kathleen Wynne’s pledge in the legislature just four months ago not to cut education funding.
“Her budget promised increased funding to school boards to keep up with growing enrolment,” Tabuns told the legislature. “She’s on the record promising no cuts to schools, and yet the Ministry of Education is spelling out $500 million in cuts to our classrooms and says annual increases are things of the past.”
The Progressive Conservatives say school closings would inevitably be in small-town and rural Ontario, where schools are often the hub of the community, and warn that shutting down some of them won’t result in savings.
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“Shutting them down and bussing kids 15, 20 or 30 kilometres away, I don’t think is an option,” said PC education critic Garfield Dunlop. “And I don’t think it’s going to save her $500 million either.”
Sandals said education funding this year hit $22.5 billion, an increase of 56.5 per cent, or over $4,000 per pupil, since the Liberals were elected in 2003.
“We have increased spending in education more than any other government has ever done,” she said.
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