TORONTO, Dec. 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spending on public schools in Ontario increased 3.1 per cent per student in recent years, surpassing the national average, finds a new study by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
“Contrary to what we often hear, spending is on the rise in Ontario’s public education system, and it’s increasing at a faster rate than in other parts of the country,” said Jason Clemens, Fraser Institute executive vice-president and co-author of Education Spending in Public Schools in Canada, 2020 Edition.
The study finds the total amount spent on the province’s public schools increased by more than nine per cent, from $25.5 billion to $27.9 billion, from 2012/13 to 2016/17, the most recent year of available Statistics Canada data.
This spending increase occurred while student enrolment declined by approximately 24,500 students. This is part of the reason why per student spending is increasing; even small increases in spending get amplified when the number of students declines.
In fact, after adjusting for inflation and enrolment changes, per student spending increased by 3.1 per cent over the same five-year period, which was higher than the national average increase of 2.9 per cent.
By comparison, while Ontario spent $13,894 per student in 2016/17, Quebec spent $11,543 per student that same year.
“In critical policy discussions, especially those that affect our children’s education, it’s important to understand exactly what’s happening with public education spending,” Clemens said.
“In Ontario, the evidence is clear—spending on public education, after adjusting for inflation and enrolment changes, has increased over the past few years.”
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The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institute’s independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org.