Centre for Civic Governance

As public enrolment exceeds province's estimate, ministry uses up reserve funds to compensate – giving schools less to work with

Higher-than-expected enrolment in B.C. public schools this year has blown a $32-million hole in the province's education resources.

In its September budget, the province expected the number of students to drop by 7,000 compared with the previous school year. Late last month, a tally of students in the classrooms showed the projections were off: Total enrolment has declined by just 3,500 students.

Now, the Education Ministry must dip into its “holdback” fund to pay the additional education costs – an average of $8,200 per pupil. That leaves less cash to distribute at the end of the school year to address other funding shortfalls.

It's just the latest fiscal crunch in a sector that's already been hit with cuts and is now facing a fresh pile of bills.

This week, B.C. teachers won an arbitration award on class size that could result in a hefty price tag if the ruling, which applies to 21 teachers, is applied across the board. At the same time, school districts are just starting registration for the first phase of all-day kindergarten, a costly new program that starts in September.

The B.C. government's last budget included an increase of $84-million in education funding for the current school year, but with all the added pressures, school budgets are still grappling with significant shortfalls.

The math is simple: “The costs associated with everything to do with running a school district has increased and the ministry funding has not kept up,” said Susan Lambert, vice-president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation.

All-day kindergarten will be available in September to about 15,000 new pupils – a little better than half of the children entering the school system for their first year. The province says all-day kindergarten will be available to everyone who wants it by 2011.

Although the province has pledged $44-million to pay for additional kindergarten teachers, Ms. Lambert said there are no funds to develop an all-day curriculum or to pay for extra supplies. “We're concerned that the government is rolling out all-day K in a year when they are cutting back all other programs.”

In Richmond, the school district is preparing space for 639 all-day kindergarten spots at the same time it wrestles down a deficit of $5-million to $9-million.

Competition for the all-day option may be fierce: Just 20 of Richmond's 38 elementary schools will offer all-day kindergarten, and there are an estimated 1,300 eligible pupils.

“Those spots will be at a premium,” Ms. Lambert predicted.

Richmond school-district superintendent Monica Pamer isn't sure what to expect when enrolment starts tomorrow, but she's expecting parents from other catchment areas will be vying for the all-day spots.

Ms. Pamer welcomes the all-day expansion but said there are big budget challenges overall.

“We will get funded for those [kindergarten] students so I don't feel that is a pressure so much as an opportunity,” she said. “But it's not a good year financially. I would anticipate layoffs and some pretty serious issues with the budget.”

Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid said the school districts will have to make do with the existing budget, but predicted the deficits won't be as large as threatened.

“I think the funding we provided is going to work,” she said. “All the school districts know the ministry can't put in great amounts of new funding, we have to be realistic.”

She said parents she has talked to are excited about the prospect of all-day kindergarten but the resources weren't available to roll it out fully this year. Next year's budget will have to provide capital funding for class expansion, but for now the classes are only being offered where space already existed.

Justine Hunter, Globe and Mail, January 13, 2010