Will some B.C. school districts end up with a bigger slice of the funding pie at the expense of others?
That’s a question that’s been nagging Delta’s board of education for over a year, ever since the Ministry of Education announced it would undertake a review of the funding allocation formula. The Delta board and B.C. School Trustees Association have called on the government for an assurance the review won’t result in some districts benefiting at the expense of others, but the province, so far, has not provided that guarantee.
The plan was to introduce the new formula by next March with implementation set for the 2019/20 school year, but the ministry last week announced there will be no changes for the next school year. Instead, the government's education partners will form working groups to provide advice on how to move forward on key themes in a report by an independent review panel. It raised a series of concerns and made 22 recommendations.
"We want to make sure all students are getting the supports they need no matter where they live. I want to thank the panel for helping define the challenges and identify paths forward," said Education Minister Rob Fleming. "Now it's up to all of us who care about students to deliver solutions. Given the scope of the recommendations, we now need to work with our partners to better understand the benefits for students, parents, educators and school districts. It's critical we get this right for our kids."
The ministry noted the working groups will be formed in January to engage further on key areas identified in the report: inclusive education, distributed learning, adult education, financial management and accountability.
The working groups will include representation by all education partners and are to report back in the fall of 2019.
Saying she appreciates there will be an opportunity for more consultation, Delta board chair Laura Dixon told the Optimist the minister informed boards one reason for providing extra time is there has been about a 50 per cent turnover in trustees in the province as well as the fact that 2019 will be a bargaining year with teachers.
“We’re happy, in the meantime, to engage in a conversation about improving equity of funding for all students and how we would prioritize funding, but we’re several steps away from having the tangible details of the formula itself,” Dixon noted.
Saying there’s uncertainty even with the current year-to-year funding, Dixon said the adequacy of the overall funding pie will be a wider conversation.
