Budget Allocation for Education Welcome but More Needed

TORONTO - Every new dollar allocated to public education in Ontario is welcome, but more investment is needed to ensure that elementary students receive the quality education they deserve, say Ontario's elementary teachers.

"We appreciate the $315 million increase in per pupil funding announced in the provincial budget as well as the new funding to support literacy and numeracy and special needs students, said Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario President David Clegg. "We look forward to learning the specifics for elementary education when the 2008-09 Grants for Student Needs are announced tomorrow."

"But we are disappointed that the government has not yet announced a major commitment to eliminate the elementary funding gap," said Clegg.

Clegg explained that school boards currently receive over $700 more for each secondary student than for each elementary student. Given that success in the later years of a student's schooling is based on a solid foundation in the beginning years, the underfunding of elementary schools does a great disservice to elementary students, said Clegg.

"We believe that the McGuinty government will not achieve its goals of improved academic performance if it fails to aggressively address the continued underfunding of elementary education."

The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario represents 73,000 elementary public school teachers and education workers across the province and is the largest teacher federation in Canada.