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County to lobby ed. ministry for more cash

Warden thinks Simcoe schools being short changed

BY Kurtis Elsner, Staff June 30, 2009 14:06

Simcoe County Warden Tony Guergis wants to make sure county public schools are getting their fair share when it comes to provincial funding.

He and Simcoe County District School Board trustees are planning to approach the provincial government with concerns the Simcoe board is getting less money per pupil than other boards in Ontario.

At a recent SCDSB meeting, board staff said the Simcoe board has been on the lower end of the provincial funding scale for the past few years.

"Why is Simcoe County consistently getting a lower level of funding than other areas of the GTA or the province?" asked Guergis. "We need to support rapidly growing communities like Simcoe County."

The Simcoe board has faced several financial challenges in the past few years, including declining enrolment. With a wide geographic area - one of the largest in the province - the board is also dealing with a disparity when it comes to growth, with some areas in decline and other populations expected to grow.

For example, some secondary schools in the board have closed portions of their buildings because of a lack of students, while the relatively new Bear Creek Secondary School in Barrie is over capacity and already scheduled for expansion.

"We have pockets of declining enrolment and we have areas of huge growth," said board chair Diane Firman.

Ministry of Education spokesperson Patricia MacNeil said the reason some boards get more money than others is because situations vary across the province. She said the funding formulas are based on boards' needs, and include several different grants that recognize specific challenges.

"They are based upon a board's particular circumstance. (School boards) have very different geographical make-ups, they have different student make-ups," she said.

Essentially, boards start with the same per-pupil funding, but the amount changes as boards apply for the various special grants. They include funding for transportation, funding for boards experiencing declining enrolment and funding for special education.

Guergis is worried that the ministry doesn't understand the challenges that are specific to the Simcoe board though. He said it is the responsibility of all local politicians to communicate Simcoe's challenges to the provincial government.

"It's a lack of understanding and we need to do a better job as elected representatives to work together to present a regional perspective," he said.

He also said the county is under-funded in other areas, such as health care.

SCDSB business superintendent Carol McAulay said the board receives many of the provinces special grants, including that for declining enrolment.

She said that while the board may receive grants for certain challenges, it doesn't mean it has to always spend the money on that issue. It is up to the board to determine how it wants to spend most of the money.

Guergis hopes to have a committee together this summer and wants to have a request in to meet with Education Minister Kathleen Wynne by the fall.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If we don't try, I don't think we've done our job," he said.

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