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Education Funding:
Finance System
The issue
The
education finance system is broken, partially because of government-imposed
austerity, but also because of a disconnect between the mandate(s) of the
education system and how it is funded.
A
stable system over the long term is needed to allow for forward thinking and
planning that is based on school boards focused on what is good and what can be
improved in the district, rather than on where are the least harmful places to
cut services.
A
commitment to adequately funding the full mandate is one of the keys to a sound
system, rather than piecemeal funding for specific items as one-off
expenditure, as has been happening in the past.
Adequacy
is not enough though—equity must also be a value on which funding is
based. Equity must take into account the
very different realities in different communities and areas of the province. Resources
must be distributed in a way that a child anywhere in the province has equitable
access to opportunities.