Ontario Increases Funding Per Student
McGuinty Government Protecting Gains In Education
Ontario is increasing funding for students for the 10th year in a row.
The 2012-13 Grants for Student Needs (GSN) will rise this coming year to $11,189 per student. That is an increase of about $4,000 per student since 2003. The increased funding has led to significant achievements in the education system including smaller class sizes, higher test scores in reading, math and science, higher graduation rates and help for underperforming schools.
Additional funding is also being provided outside of these grants to ensure full-day kindergarten is rolled out on schedule to give our youngest learners the best possible start.
This year¡¦s increases will help protect full-day kindergarten, a cap on class sizes and teaching jobs. However, school boards, particularly with declining enrolment, will still need to find savings.
The McGuinty government is committed to working with its partners in education to eliminate the deficit, while preserving jobs and making sure every student is able to reach their full potential.
QUOTES
¡§Ontario¡¦s publicly funded education system is now ranked the best in the English-speaking world. And, despite these challenging economic times, we are going to protect the gains we¡¦ve made in education. The 2012-13 GSN makes a very deliberate choice to protect smaller class sizes, full-day kindergarten and almost 20,000 teaching and support staff jobs.¡¨
¡X Laurel Broten, Minister of Education
QUICK FACTS
„X The Grants for Student Needs (GSN) is the annual funding provided to school boards to support educational programs and services, staffing and the maintenance of school facilities.
„X The 2012-13 GSN is approximately $21 billion ¡X up $6.5 billion, or 45 per cent, since 2003.
„X In addition to the GSN, $643 million in funding will support the ongoing expansion of full-day kindergarten to reach about 122,000 students, or approximately half of Ontario¡¦s four- and five-year olds.
„X Total education funding, which covers the GSN and full-day kindergarten, will increase by about 1.7 per cent in 2012-13.
„X Recently, Ontario¡¦s publicly funded education system was recognized by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for significantly increasing reading and math skills, improving graduation rates and reducing the number of low-performing schools.
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Grahame Rivers 3/29/2012 |
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