Districts Get More Funding While Enrolment Declines

NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
2007EDU0027-000268
March 15, 2007

Ministry of Education

VICTORIA – B.C. school districts will receive a $116-million increase next year while enrolment is projected to continue to decline, Education Minister Shirley Bond announced today.

“This increase is on top of the $470-million increase boards received this year,” said Bond. “This record amount of funding means that no school district will receive less funding next year, even though almost all districts expect to have fewer students.”

The additional $116 million boosts school district operating funding to $4.345 billion for the 2007-08 school year – the highest ever. The increase includes $20 million in additional operating funding. The Province is also fully funding the negotiated agreements reached last year with employees in the K-12 education sector and fully funding increased pension costs.“At the same time, districts forecast they will have 7,574 fewer students next year,” said Bond. “As a result, the average per pupil grant is expected to increase $336, from $7,596 to an estimated $7,932. Since 2000-01, the per pupil grant has increased by $1,716.”

Last year, districts estimated they would have about 7,000 fewer students but when enrolment counts were finalized in September there were in fact 12,300 fewer students. This is the seventh year in a row the per pupil grant has increased.

School districts project they will have 547,840 full-time students in 2007-08 compared to 555,414 this year. Fifty-six of the 60 school districts project they will have fewer students next year. Since 2000-01, enrolment has declined by over 50,000 students and is expected to decrease another 25,000 over the next five years.

School districts with an enrolment decrease greater than one per cent in a year receive extra funds from the Province. The Province also provides additional funds to help districts with a decrease in enrolment of four per cent or more, and districts with a decrease of seven per cent or more over three years. This year, 45 districts are expected to receive almost $16 million to help with declining enrolment.

Next year, school districts will also receive increased funding for English as a Second Language (ESL) students and Aboriginal students. Funding for ESL students will increase by an estimated $3.8 million while funding for Aboriginal students will increase by an estimated $3 million. Funding for small and rural schools will increase by an estimated $6.5 million.

“Every year a technical review committee made up of representatives from school districts examines the funding formula and makes recommendations to improve it,” said Bond. “The committee recommended increasing funding for Aboriginal and ESL students, and for students in rural schools – and we’ve acted on those recommendations.”

The Province will also double the funding for the Summer Learning program from $2 million to $4 million. Summer Learning allows students to take courses during the summer free of charge.

The government is working to make B.C. the best-educated, most literate jurisdiction on the continent. Since 2000-01, the Province has increased funding to B.C. public schools by over $1 billion: $667 million in operating grants and $407 million in one-time grants. During the same period, enrolment has declined by over 50,000 students.

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1 Backgrounder and 1 Factsheet attached.

Media contact:

Lara Perzoff
Public Affairs Bureau
Ministry of Education
250 356-5963
250 920-9040 (cell)