The amount of extra curricular activities and materials available to your child at school depends too much on fundraising, a recent report suggests.
The parent-led group People for Education worries the growing trend of school councils raising money for things such as field trips, sports, art supplies, library and text books and even renovations has and will continue to create a province of have and have-not schools.
The group released a report Tuesday that indicates school council fundraising, vending machines and corporate donations accounted for an estimated $500,000 in “school-generated funds” for local boards in the 2008/09 academic year.
See the full study here. (pdf)
It’s calling on the province to implement its promised fundraising policy to limiting fundraising and ensure all education essentials are provided by the system.
People for Education reports fundraising efforts vary widely, from $0 to $200,000 and has raised concern that schools will have difficulty providing tools for students without private funds.
The report also highlights user fees some high school students are required to pay for various after-class activities and materials, such as software, workbooks or instruments, for some classes.
Those fees range from $5 to $100, according to the study.
Art classes are subject to fees most often, followed by physical education and design and technology courses.
“For some parents, the combination of fees and the pressure to participate in fundraising can be experienced as a form of exclusion or built-in inequity,” the group says in its report. “People for Education is once again calling on the province to articulate a vision for education that outlines what things should be available to all students in every school, at no extra charge. Once the overall vision has been established, then it will be possible to identify the “extras” that might be funded by fees, fundraising and corporate partnerships.”
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