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Ontario School Board Funding: Understanding Education Funding in Ontario

This training module provides an in-depth understanding of the structure and components of education funding in the Province of Ontario, including how funding is allocated to district school boards and other school authorities. Learn about the funding model principles, grant allocations, and special purpose grants.

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Ontario School Board Funding: Understanding Education Funding in Ontario

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  1. School Board Audit Committee TrainingPre-training module 2Education Funding

  2. Session objectives After completing this session you will better understand: • The structure and components of Education funding in the Province of Ontario 1

  3. Who is funded? • 72 district school boards (focus of this presentation) • 4 school authorities (very small boards in remote areas) • James Bay Lowlands • Moose Factory • Moosonee • Penetanguishene • 6 hospital authorities (very small boards in hospital settings) • Bloorview - John McGivney • Campbell - Kids Ability • Niagara - Ottawa

  4. Ontario School Board Facts for 2010–11* • $20.22B in total GSN funding (projected) • 72 district school boards • 1,207,600 elementary students in over 4,000 schools • 676,100 secondary students in 900 schools • 202,407 staff (including 124,000 school-based teachers) * Footnote: Ministry of Education - School Board Funding Projections for the 2010–11 School Year http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/funding/1011/funding10.pdf

  5. Funding Model Principles • A strong publicly funded education system is at the centre of this government’s mandate and is the foundation of the province’s future prosperity. • To support this goal, the funding model: • Provides a fair and equitable level of funding for all students, wherever they live in Ontario; • Provides more funding for students in the classroom and less funding for administration and other non-classroom costs; • Provides funding to maintain schools and to build new schools where they are needed; • Protects funding for students with special needs; • Increases the accountability of school boards by ensuring that boards report consistently on how they spend their allocations.

  6. Funding Model for District School Boards Grants for Student Needs Property Tax + Provincial (GSN) Funding Formula = Revenue Grants SourceTypeMechanics Municipalities Property taxes Set by the Province of Ontario for residential & business properties Collected by municipalities on behalf of Province and remitted to school boards Ministry of Education Grants Calculated as GSN funding formula minus amounts received through property taxes

  7. Structure of the GSN Funding Model • Intended to model cost structures • 4 major components: • Pupil foundation grant • School foundation grant • 13 Special purpose grants • Debt service grant

  8. 2010–11 Grant Allocations as a Percentage

  9. (1) Pupil Foundation Grant • Per Pupil Allocation • Supports the elements of a classroom education that are required by all students • Three levels of funding: • Primary (JK – 3) • Junior & Intermediate (4 – 8) • Secondary (9-12) • Includes costs such as the following: • classroom teacher salaries & preparation time; • library and guidance services; • educational assistants, • classroom supplies, textbooks and learning materials, classroom computers, • classroom consultants, • professionals (e.g., psychologists) and para-professionals (e.g., attendance counsellors, social workers, child/youth workers, community workers, and computer technicians) Projected 2010–11 funding amount: $9.50B

  10. (2) School Foundation Grant • Funds in-school administration and leadership, and school office supplies • Includes the following costs: • Principals (1 for every 50 or more students, < 50 students, 0.50 FTE) • Vice-principals (based on school enrolment) • School office support staff (1 for every school + based on school enrolment) • School office supplies (per school amount + based on school enrolment) Projected 2010–11 funding amount: $1.36B

  11. Special Purpose Grants • Provide additional funding to meet students’ different needs and the costs that vary from one school board to another • The thirteen special purpose grants are: • Special Education Grant • Language Grant • First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education Supplement • Geographic Circumstances Grant • Learning Opportunities Grant • Safe Schools Supplement • Program Enhancement Grant • Continuing Education and Other Programs Grant • Cost Adjustment and Teacher Qualifications and Experience Grant • Student Transportation Grant • Declining Enrolment Adjustment • School Board Administration and Governance Grant • School Facility Operations and Renewal Grant

  12. (3) Special Education Grant • Funding for students who need special education programs, services and/or equipment • Composed of six components: • Special Education Per Pupil Amount (SEPPA) • High Needs Amount (HNA) • Special Equipment Amount (SEA) • Special Incidence Portion (SIP) • Facilities Amount • Behavioural Expertise Amount Projected 2010–11 funding amount: $2.31 billion

  13. (4) Language Grant • Provides funding to meet school boards’ costs for language instruction • Composed of five components: • French as a First Language (FFL) • French as a Second Language (FSL) • English as Second Language (ESL) • Actualisation linguistique en français (ALF) • Programme pour nouveaux arrivants (PANA) Projected 2010–11 funding amount: $625.3M

  14. (5) First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Education Supplement • Supports programs designed for Aboriginal students as outlined in the Ontario First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Education Policy Framework released in January 2007 • Composed of three components: • Native languages • Native studies • Per-pupil-amount Projected 2010–11 funding amount: $35.4M

  15. (6) Geographic Circumstances Grant • Recognizes the additional costs of operating small schools in isolated areas and costs that are associated with the geography of boards, including board size and school dispersion • Composed of three allocations: • Remote and Rural (higher costs of goods) • Supported Schools (teaching staff costs to keep viable low-enrolment schools that are far from other schools of the board) • Rural and Small Community (supports boards with schools in small or rural communities) Projected 2010–11 funding amount: $192.8M

  16. (7) Learning Opportunities Grant (LOG) • Supports a wide range of programs to improve the achievement of students with a higher risk of academic difficulty • Composed of six allocations: • Demographic • Literacy and Math Outside the School Day • Student Success, Grades 7 to 12 • School Effectiveness Framework • Ontario Focused Intervention Partnership (OFIP) Tutoring • Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) 2010–11 projected funding amount: $460.3M

  17. (8) Safe Schools Supplement • Supports amendments to the safe schools provisions of the Education Act which came into effect on February 1, 2008. • Consists of two allocations: • Safe Schools Strategy • Program & Support: Funding for programs for students on long-term suspension or expulsion to continue their education; • Professional Staff Support: Funding to acquire additional para-professional resources for at-risk students; • Urban and Priority High Schools: Funding to support urban and priority high schools to address challenges faced by at-risk students. Projected 2010–11 funding amount $44.7M

  18. (9) Program Enhancement Grant • Supports programs and activities such as arts, music, physical education, and outdoor education to ensure students have access to a well-rounded education • Funding is allocated on the basis of $9,650 per school • Boards have flexibility in how to use this funding, which may be used to fund or enrich existing programs or to offer new programs Projected 2010–11 funding amount: $45.6M

  19. (10) Continuing Education and Other Programs Grant • Provides funding for adult school programs, continuing education, correspondence programs, summer school and night schools • Composed of five components: • Adult day-school • Prior learning and assessment for mature students • Continuing education programs • Summer school programs for adults and secondary students • International (“heritage”) language instruction for elementary students Projected 2010–11 funding amount: $126.1M

  20. (11) Teacher Qualification & Experience Grant • Provides funding to help boards meet teachers’ salary costs above the funding provided in the Pupil Foundation Grant • The grant recognizes the differences in salary ranges of both teaching and various non-teaching staff • Composed of three allocations: • Cost Adjustment • Teacher Qualifications and Experience (Q&E) • New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) Projected 2010–11 funding amount: $1.27B

  21. (12) Student Transportation Grant • Funds the costs of transporting students from home to school and students with special needs to special education programs • Composed of five allocations: • Cost Update Adjustment • Enrolment Adjustment • Routing Efficiency • Fuel escalator and De-escalator • Transportation to Provincial Schools Projected 2010–11 funding amount: $834.6M

  22. (13) Declining Enrolment Adjustment (DEA) • Provides transitional funding to recognize that it takes time for boards to adjust their cost structures to declines in enrolment (and the resulting decline in revenue) • Composed of three components: • First year component • Second year component • Third year component Projected 2010–11 funding amount: $59.9M

  23. (14) School Board Administration and Governance Grant • Provides funding for the administration and governance costs such as operating board offices and central facilities, board-based staff and expenditures, including supervisory officers and their secretarial support • Composed of seven allocations: • Trustees • Directors and Supervisory Officers • Board Administration • Reporting Entity Project • Parent Engagement Funding • Multiple Municipalities • Internal Audit Projected 2010–11 funding amount: $541.0M

  24. (15) School Facility Operations and Renewal Grant • Supports the costs of operating, repairing, and renovating schools • Composed of two allocations: • School Operations: to heat, light, maintain, and clean schools, including funding for custodial staff • School Renewal: to address costs of repairing and renovating schools Projected 2010–11 funding amount $2.22B

  25. (16) Debt Service • In light of declining enrolment, the Ministry has reviewed its funding approach to capital programs and the effectiveness of the New Pupil Places (NPP) funding model • As a result, a number of changes are being introduced, starting in 2010–11 they include: • Wrap-Up of the New Pupil Places Funding Model • Recognition of Long-Term Debt • Accountability Procedures Projected 2010–11 funding amount $537.0M

  26. Changes to Funding Formula • Funding formula was introduced in 1998 • Yearly refinements in response to school board needs through formal consultations and ad-hoc workgroups • Government commitment to reviewing the funding formula to ensure its continued responsiveness to the sector • Changes to the formula are introduced by regulation annually through the Education Act

  27. Enrolment • Many GSN funding formulas are based on enrolment • Enrolment is defined in terms of full-time equivalency (FTE) and average daily enrolment (ADE) • FTE: # of minutes of instruction per day / 300 • Junior kindergarten and Senior kindergarten students are counted as half-time students • ADE: FTE at October 31st x 50% + FTE at March 31st x 50% count dates for funding purposes

  28. Grant Administration • Grant payments are transmitted to Boards and School Authorities through electronic funds transfer • Grants are paid to school boards once a month whereby the cash flow is timed to match expenses by boards • About 8% of their cash is flowed per month, except July and August at 6% and September at 13%

  29. Other Revenue Sources • Grants outside the GSN – Education Program Other (EPO) • Grants from other Ministries and Federal Government • Tuition fees from students • School fundraising activities • Rental revenue • Interest revenue

  30. Financial Reporting • School Boards submit financial data (used to calculate annual grant payments) and other business reporting information in four reporting cycles • Estimates (the board Budget due end of June) • Financial Statements (mid November) • Revised Estimates (Updated budget due mid December) • 7 Month Capital and Operating Report (mid May) • Financial reporting standards are maintained through common chart of accounts, communication with school boards and external auditors (follow public sector accounting rules) • Data is submitted through a web-based tool and maintained in a system called EFIS

  31. Appendix I – Business Cycle • Business cycles overlap as it takes 3 years to complete one business cycle Estimates: end of June/July GSN: end March Year 1: Prior to School Year Business Cycle begins in March, prior to the school year in September to provide time for boards to develop balanced budgets Year 1: Sept Dec Mar June July Year 2: School Year During the school year, a budget update is due and cash flow get adjusted. Year-to-date report is (7 month) to report on the province’s fiscal year. Cash Flow Begins: mid Sept Adjust Cash: mid January Year 2: Sept Dec Mar June Revised Estimates: mid Dec 7 month Capital & Operating: mid May Year 3: Post School Year Financial Statements are due and cash flows get finalized based on this information. Year 3: Sept Dec Mar June Financial Statements: mid Nov Interim Final Cash: mid January Final Cash: mid March Legend: Blue - 4 Reports Due Green -4 Cash Flow Adjustments

  32. Flexibility & Restrictions • Education funding recognizes that school boards need flexibility to decide how best to allocate resources within their budgets • At the same time there are restrictions on how they may use certain components of their allocation: • Achieve balanced budgets • Achieve primary class size targets • Special education grant is limited to special education expenditures • School renewal allocation is limited to capital renewal expenditures • School board administration and governance grant spending shall not exceed the grant allocation (excluding internal audit) • NTIP funding is to be used for eligible NTIP expenditures

  33. Comprehensive Accountability Framework • Financial Reporting • Monitoring • Auditing (focus on enrolment and English as second language) • Internal audit function (new) • Measures taken to ensure compliance: • Withholding grants when a board is not in compliance on class size • Requiring boards to prepare and submit deficit management plans when necessary • Directing boards to take measures to become compliant • Control of the school board transferred to the Minister of Education

  34. Resources • Ministry of Education Public Website: Go to: Popular topics Then go to: Education Funding • http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/funding.html

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