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ESL funds paid for heat and lights, Toronto school board concedes
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| Orko |
I don't usually post news articles, but this really got my panties in a bunch.:whip:
Source
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By UNNATI GANDHI
Wednesday, August 31, 2005 Updated at 5:29 AM EDT
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Tens of millions of dollars earmarked for English-as-a-second-language programs in elementary schools have been diverted to pay for heating, lighting and other operating costs of the Toronto District School Board, a new report reveals.
Cathy Dandy of the Toronto Parent Network, a grassroots organization that released its eighth annual tracking report on the state of public schools yesterday, acknowledged the board's response, that it had to dip into ESL funds to cover rising electricity costs. But she didn't agree with it.
"The board gets money for English as a second language, but they don't use it for English as a second language. They use it to cover a gap. I think it's wrong that they do it. Those students should not be paying the gap."
Ms. Dandy said that while the Liberal government has put more money into ESL, no new programs have been developed, and Toronto public schools "continue to experience program attrition."
Thirty-three per cent of surveyed schools reported having no ESL programs in the 2004-2005 academic year, up from 8 per cent in 1999-2000, while 38 per cent reported having no ESL teachers in 2004-2005, up from 18 per cent.
Don Higgins, who is in charge of the public schools budget, said the board's ESL grant for the coming school year will amount to $84.1-million, about half of which will be used "to support and maintain the other programs and services the board offers."
Board chair Sheila Ward also acknowledged the diversion of funds.
"When electricity rates went up 18 per cent, [the province] just looked at us and shrugged their shoulders and said, 'That's your problem.' "
Education Minister Gerard Kennedy said in an interview that he plans to make it mandatory for school boards to use the money on ESL programs.
"We certainly acknowledge that in the past, at least, some of those choices were made out of scarcity and cutbacks. We are going to release some more funding for ESL this year."
The Ministry of Education said the money allocated to ESL programs is not an "enveloped grant" -- meaning it doesn't have to be used for ESL -- and gives local school boards the flexibility to decide how to spend the resources.
"The rules have permitted ESL to be a flexible item as opposed to a specific grant to accomplish a specific thing," Mr. Kennedy said.
"We do believe boards should have choice. It's a bit of a fine balancing to achieve."
Ms. Dandy of the Toronto Parent Network said such flexibility isn't appropriate for basic education.
"Flexibility for local decision-making, in theory, is a good thing. But it shouldn't be flexibility so that you're taking away from students. It should be flexibility in that if they give you a grant for something and you don't need it, then you can move it into another area. But that's not what's happening," Ms. Dandy said.
"We want them to take all the money they got for the English as a second language . . . and spend it on those students and nothing else."
Ms. Ward said the board had no choice but to reach into the ESL jar as other costs were looming.
"There was no money to cover it. You either have to heat the schools or close them. So we had to take money from areas like ESL," she said, adding funding was also taken away from French programs, librarians and teaching assistants.
About one in every six students in the school system immigrated to Canada in the past three years, according to the board's own figures. About 41 per cent of all elementary students speak a first language other than English.
Tam Goosen, president of the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto, a watchdog organization for diversity and social and economic justice, said letting ESL programs deteriorate interferes with the basic building blocks of a multicultural society.
"I've had tremendous contact with immigrant parents and almost all of them want their children to have a good education in Canada.
"They came here for the sake of the education of their children and they have tremendous trust in our public schools," the social planning council president said |
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| Orko |
This seems like such a difficult decision, I will grant that. I guess I'm just so upset because I know first hand how important ESL is for a child trying to learn.
I know there are more stats behind this issue which are not being taken into account, like one big one:
They stated that:
| quote: | | Thirty-three per cent of surveyed schools reported having no ESL programs in the 2004-2005 academic year, up from 8 per cent in 1999-2000, while 38 per cent reported having no ESL teachers in 2004-2005, up from 18 per cent. |
One thing you have to look at here, is the demographic of the area of the specific schools which did not have the programs. Granted, if it was in an area where there were not too many recent immigrants, then I could see it happening. I just hope that areas with low income housing had proper ESL programs, as I had in my area when I moved to Canada. |
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