Ontario’s small schools, 2005

People for Education, 2005.

The combination of a poorly designed funding formula, national demographic trends, and chronic funding shortages have undermined the viability of thousands of small schools across the province.

• The Lakehead District School Board announced its intention to close 7 schools in 2005 and 7 more in 2007. The board currently has 36 schools in its jurisdiction.
• The Thames Valley District School Board is beginning a process to consider the future of 28 elementary and secondary school communities.
• The Toronto District School Board is predicting an enrolment decline of more than 25,000 students between 2002 and 2006.1 This will result in a funding loss of approximately $150 million, or the cost to fund more than 35 elementary schools and 10 secondary schools.
• In December 2003, the province requested school boards to impose a moratorium on school closings. Since then, boards have been unable to close small schools that constitute a disproportionate drain on their funding, yet they are increasingly unable to balance their books or adequately staff all schools in their jurisdiction.
• Ontario’s funding formula was designed in 1997 and geared to fund an elementary school of over 400 students. At that time, the average elementary school had 365 students. In 2004, that average dropped to 344 students.
• In 2003/04, only 73% of elementary schools with 300 or fewer students have full-time principals. In 1997/98, 86% had full-time principals.

The impact:
Schools play a central role in their communities. They are essential to economic development and they make communities more attractive to newcomers.  Businesses are more likely to move to communities with schools, and families will not move to communities without schools. When a community loses its school, it loses its viability.