Northern Ont. MPP calls on Ford government to spend more on education

Sudbury MPP Jamie West is calling on the province to increase education spending.

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday morning, West said his office receives calls regularly from parents who are concerned with the state of the public school system.

"Our kids need … more funding," he said.

"We want to ensure that people know it's not because of the educators, it's not the principals, it's not the school boards. It's a result of a lack of provincial funding from the Conservative government."

West said per-capita spending on education has dropped 11 per cent since Doug Ford was elected in 2018.

West held a press conference Wednesday morning at the local (ETFO) office, joined by concerned parents and ETFO affiliates.

Liana Holm, Elementary Teachers of Ontario Federation (ETFO) Rainbow local president, said the impact of the cuts can be seen in the amount of violence in the classroom.

"I get calls from educators almost every day," Holm said.

"Seventy-seven per cent have personally experienced violence or witnessed violence against other staff members."

She said students are not being served the way they need. She added classroom sizes are too large, and there are not enough staff to meet student needs.

"The world has changed, so we need to change with it," Holm said.

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday morning, Sudbury MPP Jamie West said his office receives calls regularly from parents who are concerned with the state of the public school system. (Amanda Hicks/CTV News)

"That requires bodies in our schools to help deal with the dysregulation and some of the violent incidents."

Gina McAfee, president of the Rainbow Designated Early Childhood Educator Local, said children often enter the school system less emotionally and socially prepared for school.

"The children that are coming into school now are not representative of children in the past," McAfee said.

"Children are coming to us with challenges -- special needs challenges -- that are undiagnosed. Families don't have family doctors. They don't have pediatricians. So, we have a lot of challenges in our classrooms. And not a lot of support."

Jessica Montogomery has an 11-year-old son with a communication disorder who recently required special accommodations for a physical injury.

"We are still on waitlists for supports that he was referred to when he was in Grade 2. We are now in Grade 6," Montogomery said.

"We've had to privately pay for the therapy that he needs in order to be successful in the classroom, but also outside of the classroom, as well."

During the speeches, statistics were presented showing the impact of education cuts at local schools, averaging roughly $1,500 per student.

"It shows how much money has been deducted from the school board budgets," she said.

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"It's a very eye-opening experience to understand that one school could be $700,000 down in funding, which could be equal to seven adults. Seven adults in a school would make a huge difference."

More information can be found here.

Statement from the province

In response to a request from CTV News, the province sent this statement:

"Our government has made historic investments in education, including $29 billion in funding to school boards for the 2024/25 school year, the largest investment in Ontario’s education system. Rainbow District School Board funding has increased to over $227.6 million, despite relatively stable enrollment, while the Sudbury Catholic District School Board was provided over $104.8 million despite declining enrollments.

"Since coming into government, we have increased special education funding year over year to over $3.5 billion this school year and supported the hiring of 9,000 additional education staff. We’ve also provided $118 million in mental health supports, representing a 577 per cent increase. We will continue to support student achievement and get students back to basics on building foundational reading, writing, and math skills that prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow."

Holm said she would like to see the province improve recruitment and retention, as well as more occasional teachers, smaller class sizes and resources for special education teachers.

She said she’d also like to see specially trained mental health professionals in schools.

"If we had the people and then the mental health support, a lot of what we're seeing in schools right now would be able to put a lid on it," Holm said.

"And then we'd actually be able to assess where we need the rest of the support to come."