The chair of the Near North school board welcomes new funding for rural and Northern Ontario schools. Dave Thompson admits it’s not a lot, but it will help the smaller schools. The province recently announced $20-million for rural and northern schools with the Near North board getting $480,000. Thompson says one possible area where the grant can be applied is transportation in Almaguin. He says right now the cost to cover late bussing in Almaguin comes from general revenue. However with the announcement, the board might be able to use this new money for the late bussing program freeing up the general revenue dollars for something else. Thompson does say though that the board still needs to hear from the Ministry of Education on where the money can be spent. Meanwhile, although Thompson welcomes the grant, the funding formula the province uses when awarding money to schools is still a sore spot with him. He says the Near North board is not getting equal funding compared to other boards for its students. Thompson says it’s now 2017 and is calling for every student to be funded the same amount across all four school boards.
