English public school boards in the north can expect a call from the chair of the District School Board Ontario North East Board. Doug Shearer is upset over how special needs funding has been divided among the English and French language boards. Shearer says while $7-million is available through Education Program Grants, the 19 English northern boards have to share $4.5-million from that fund while the remaining $2.5 million goes to the six French boards. He says this isn’t fair but adds the provincial government continues to advantage the French boards while shortchanging the English boards. Shearer says it’s no wonder that northern English boards struggle to achieve good graduation rates among students when schools aren’t given the resources they need. Shearer says the English northern boards can’t compete under the current allocation system and says that’s simply wrong.
When the general funding announcement was made by the minister of education in Sudbury last month, Shearer said it appeared to provide real relief to northern schools. He says it comes nowhere near to providing much needed relief. He wants to talk to the other boards in the north to see how they can have this money spent more wisely.
