This piece of research literature is a report issued from the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation which presents facts and figures on British Columbia’s education for 2012. This report is divided into the following seven sections: (1) Schools, which covers; (2) Student Enrolment; (3) Graduation Rates; (4) Staffing: Teachers and Administrators; (5) Education Funding, which covers; (6) Economic Well-Being; and (7) Student Achievement.
Of particular interest to me was section 5 on Education Funding. This section covered 7 topics: (a) Provincial funding; (b) BC falls behind the rest of Canada; (c) Independent (private) schools; (d) International (non-resident) student tuition; (e) School-generated funds; (f) Fundraising for school resources; and (g) Education funding and taxation policy;
The report talks about the 2012 government freeze for additional funding due to rising costs like inflation. This is significant because K–12 education in BC has been receiving a diminishing share of the provincial budget over the last decade and at present has fallen behind the rest of Canada.
The report goes on to talk about how these education cutbacks are hard on teachers, students, and families. One fact that I found interesting referred to the percentage of teachers saying they are very or fairly likely to leave the profession. This increased from 17% to 29% since 2009. Another reason why this was important was that they are general figures and do not take into account specific regions. Personally this was alarming considering the current situation in Vancouver for jobs with the shrinking enrollment figures.
Another interesting fact I noted was that funding for independent schools is increasing at a much faster rate than public schools’ funding. As I continue my research I will like to know if this is a trend or an anomaly. One thing that I will be able to use in support for my funding rational was an opinion survey found that 65% of respondents disagreed with the notion “that the provincial government should continue to use public funds to support private schools.”
Another avenue with long-term fundraising potential deals with the sale of our educational services to overseas students. The report has some facts concerning income form international students as a form of funding raising.
For school generated funds I received some good intell regarding common lists and definitions: “School-generated funds” are funds collected and used at the school level. Revenue sources may include vending machines, cafeterias, field trips, yearbook sales, school fees, graduation fees, band fees, and fundraising. Two-thirds (67%) of BC schools reported fundraising for library books, 57% raise funds for technology, and 12% raise funds for textbooks. A commonly stated source for funds were Parent Advisory Committees or community donations
One interesting drain on school funding was attributed to a schools carbon footprint in order for schools to be more accountable for their actions. The BC government requires school districts to purchase carbon offsets from a Crown Corporation Pacific Carbon Trust, which uses the funds for private sector projects.
Taxation policies are important for the funding of public services. A lot of taxes are invisible to the public’s eye but exist and operate in the scenes behind our lives. A major debate would be the use of taxes to increase funding. One such tax discussed was the corporate industrial school tax that was cut back 2008. The report addresses Canadian feelings regarding the ideas of taxing the public for better services. Indirectly I don not believe in the reports facts as with directly stating it seems skewed, biased on taxing the rich, which will never be a viable option.
I learned that Vancouver has 60 districts
[This paper was compiled by the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) Information Services and BCTF Research Department.]
