Jane Bouey: Rethinking private school funding, especially when rights are not respected
By Jane Bouey
At the British Columbia School Trustees Association’s annual general meeting in April, trustees called on the Gordon Campbell government to redirect funding from private schools to public education. This request comes in the wake of massive school-board budget shortfalls across B.C., largely because the government keeps downloading extra costs. The Vancouver school board alone is looking at $18.2 million in cuts.
Trustees seemed to be on the same page—shouldn’t public funding go to public schools?
A week later, Lisa Reimer, a lesbian teacher at Little Flower Academy, a private Catholic school, was allegedly fired for being gay.
Reimer was denied parental leave and told to take 15 days of sick leave when her partner’s baby was born. She was also instructed to keep silent about her sexual orientation and family status. She adhered to this request, despite recent claims by LFA that she talked about her “lifestyle” with students.
Upon returning to work, Reimer was dismissed with pay until the end of the school year. She was not allowed contact with students and their families, and ordered not to set foot on campus.
Glen Hansman, a vice-president with the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers’ Association, has stated, “This kind of discrimination and homophobia could never happen in a public school. This case is a clear example why private schools should not receive any kind of public funding whatsoever. All teachers have the right to a safe and accepting workplace. Catholic schools should be no different.”
The timing of Reimer’s dismissal is particularly ironic. One of the cuts the VSB must consider is support for queer students, employees, and families.
Vancouver has been a leader in anti-homophobia, anti-transphobia diversity work. When I was on the COPE school board from 2002 to 2005, we established a pride advisory committee, and developed and implemented comprehensive policy to ensure that queer youth, employees, and families feel safe and welcomed in Vancouver schools. We hired an anti-homophobia and diversity consultant, who is out in our schools, supporting students, and educating staff. Since most students who are victims of homophobic slurs identify as straight, this work supports the safety of all students.
Now, due to a staggering funding shortfall, this position is to be reduced to a less than half-time position.
By definition, public schools are more inclusive, diverse, and democratic than private schools. They could be more inclusive and democratic, and more engaging. They certainly could serve certain student populations a heck of a lot better. (Look at the graduation rates of aboriginal students for one glaring example.) However, school boards do keep trying to meet public education’s potential.
However, much of what makes Vancouver schools among the best in the world is now at risk. Since 2002, accumulated shortfalls of more than $50 million have impacted the VSB budget. Like other districts around the province, cuts in Vancouver are now attacking the heart and soul of education.
The VSB now faces massive staff layoffs (more than 300 layoff notices were sent out on May 4), and reductions and elimination of many programs and services—including support for inner city, special needs, and ESL students. Threatened are both the necessary supports for students who otherwise cannot learn, and programs that enhance and provide alternatives that truly engage the learner.
The VSB has been assigned a “special advisor” by the province to investigate our finances. The auditor was given instructions to get trustees’ bios, and to investigate governance, but not to look into whether the system is truly under-funded, as the trustees, teachers, students and parents maintain. Looking at the terms of reference, many wonder if the very concept of elected school boards is actually being reviewed.
Across the province, starved boards are closing down schools, and eroding services to students. There is word that in some rural areas where schools have been shut down, parents are being encouraged by the province to set up “independent” (private) schools. I hear more stories than ever about parents of special needs children, no longer able get support in the public system, being encouraged to enroll them in private schools.
A recent poll by the B.C. Society for Public Education shows 65 percent disagree with public funding for private schools. The poll was taken before many British Columbians learned from the recent news stories that our public tax dollars go to private schools. Since 2001, the Liberals have been quietly increasing private school funding, while refusing to cover increasing costs for the public system.
It’s time to seriously look at taxpayer funding for private schools. By redirecting some of that money, we could hit two birds with one stone—improve public school education and set a higher standard for education and human rights.
Jane Bouey is a Coalition of Progressive Electors trustee on the Vancouver school board.
Comments
10 Comments
Anonymous
May 7, 2010 at 6:03pm
you are correct. The sikh, catholic, christian and jewish schools should not get any of their taxpayer monies back. These monies should be used to support the high standards of the public system. Besides tha,t they are minorities so who cares.? We have BCTF and COPE agreeing now we await the NDP.
ps we can tolerate child abuse in the public system but not discrimination against a lesbian in the private system
Rolf Auer
May 7, 2010 at 7:12pm
Donald Gutstein has an excellent article on this in the previous issue of The Straight:
http://www.straight.com/article-319983/vancouver/war-public-schools-rages
Highly recommend reading as well.
Anonymous
May 8, 2010 at 11:57am
I support my tax dollars going to alternative educational models, considering the public education system is failing so badly on many fronts.
As for the lesbian teacher, why did she take a job with a Catholic institution? It really sounds premeditated.
If I had kids, I would be seriously considering sending them to a private school anyway, considering how badly public education is failing.
Neale Adams
May 8, 2010 at 7:06pm
One can argue for or against government aid to private schools on many gounds, but I'm not sure how ending grants to independent schools would help solve the problem of underfunding of public schools.
Grants to independent schools, established in 1977 at 30% of the previous year's average per capita operating grant for public schools, was increased for most independent schools to 50% in 1989, following the recomendations of a Royal Commission. (Certain elite schools are now at 35%). That's for operating expenses; the province doesn't contribute directly to private schools' capital costs.
Independent schools account for about 10 per cent of B.C.'s K-12 student population. Independent and private schools receive more than $150 million in funding annually, according to the private schools' figures.
Even though many private schools pay teachers a lot less than they receive under the public system, cutting grants to private schools would in many cases probably mean those schools would go under, and their students would end up in the public system.
So the province would have to come up with an additional $100 million or so annually to teach these kids -- or reduce average grants to the public school boards. In any case, I would think funding would be even tighter than it is today.
And of course that doesn't take into account the need for more school spaces which the private schools say would require an estimated $750 million to $1 billion of new capital funding. That figure is probably high, and many school districts have excess facilities due to declining enrollment, but there would be some cost.
In a way this is an academic discussion, because, politically, now that parents of private schools get public aid, no party would want to reverse that!
Carol777
May 9, 2010 at 12:12pm
What is happening now seems to be a downward spiral where because public schools are so underfunded, quality of instruction suffers with bigger classes, larger schools, and fewer enrichment programs. So people turn to private schools, which then makes the problem even worse. It makes a lot of sense to redirect private school funding to public schools. If we came up with approx $1000 per taxpayer for the olympics, surely we can ensure that our schools are properly funded.
This is really a crisis.
B Roodnick
May 11, 2010 at 9:16pm
The statistics in this article are interesting. It seems that 45% of British Columbians agree with funding Independent Schools...even though only 11% of students in BC attend Independent Schools and Independent Schools use only about 4% of the Educational Budget......and 0% of the Capital Cost Budget....so probabaly only about 2% of the total cost of Education in BC. By most accounts Independent Schools provide and excellent standard of education...no-one seems to be complaining about the quality of Education............so let me understand the argument........what we should do to improve Education in BC is.....remove the 2% and give it to the Public School System.......leaving Independent School parents with 0% even though they pay 100% of their taxes (apparently this is the Canadian way of being fair, just and inclusive and Democratic)..........the resulting flood of families to the public system would require the taxpayers to come up with and additional 50%(Class 1) or 65% (Class 2) or 100% (Class 3 & 4) for each returning student, just to maintain the status quo. Some Independent Schools would close...some of which are currently providing a first class education to British Columbians.
This sounds like we end up with some good schools closing, parents having less choice for their children, fellow British Columbians being treated unfairly and taxpayers paying more for the status quo in the Public System. Did I miss anything?
I can see how this helps the Trustees and the the BCTF.......how does it improve Education and how well does it serve the public good?
The funding problem in the schools, both Public and Independent is a result of demographics...there are just fewer students in the Province. It is small minded to lash out at Independent Schools as a result of this and use them as a scapegoat. Independent Schools have to resolve the same demographic problem with fewer taxpayer resources to do it.
Alan
May 12, 2010 at 11:24pm
Bouey's argument is solid. It is completely out of proportions that cuts are being made to Education at all. Education is investment. Governments need to take into consideration that their so highly-prized tax dollars are returned to them by the people who are most well off. There's a definite relationship between education and economical success.
Jack Jackson
May 13, 2010 at 10:34pm
I completely agree with B Roodnick.
One thing I would like to reiterate. This parents sending their children to independent schools pay at least their fair share of taxes.
B Roodnick
May 14, 2010 at 8:23pm
The fairness to the tax payer is worth noting here. Tax payers who are paying 100% taxes are getting less than 50% support (max 50% funding and 0% for capital costs). This is clearly unjust. Yet many people will state - 'you can't control where your taxes are spent' ... ironically those same people are trying to dictate that taxes are NOT spent supporting the children of British Columbians in Independent Schools. Some will state - 'Not on my dime' and then ironically try to steal the other tax payers 'dime' by denying them even 50% funding.
Parents of children in Independent Schools are neighbours and friends.....fellow British Columbians.....law abiding, tax paying citizens...contributing to society. Their only 'crime' is that they have chosen a different school...one that they believe best serves the needs of their children. I thought that is what parents were supposed to do....'the highest duty to care'. Punishing them makes not sense morally, democratically.......and ironically even fiscally.
I believe that common sense will prevail in this argument and that the vast majority of British Columbians will choose to be fair and just and respectful of diversity.
William Forrestall
Jul 16, 2013 at 10:04am
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights , article 26.3 states ‘Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children” , article 2 supports funding for all parents and articles 7, 18, 20, 28, 30 reinforce funded choice. Interestingly inciting opposition to funded educational diversity can be a form of human rights abuse in violation of article 7 of the Declaration , which protects all 30 rights from incitement to discrimination, similar to advocating the return of slavery , or denying women the right to vote .
The Convention on Economic, social and cultural rights article 13.3 , supports parental school choice “ to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions”, funding is supported by article 2.2 and reinforced by articles 1, 5, and 10 and 28.
Another human rights document worth consulting in the ongoing discussions on school curriculum and diversity would be the Convention Against Discrimination in Education supports funded choice for all parents regardless of their ability to pay school fees.
Those who opposed to funding religious schools , yet still expect religious people to pay taxes and accept the construct of their nationalism ( and nationalism is a religion) are called bigots. Looks like this article "outed" a couple.