Howard Hampton and the NDP are committed to fairness in education. Every child in Ontario has a right to an excellent school, properly staffed with the programs our children need.

The most urgent problem in public education today is dealing with the effects of Dalton McGuinty’s broken promise to fix the school funding formula. McGuinty and John Tory would like voters to believe that faith-based schools are a defining issue for Ontario because neither party wants to talk about the real crisis in our existing publicly-funded school systems – both public and separate. After all, the Conservatives are responsible for the broken funding formula, and Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals broke their promise to fix it.

School boards still have to make cuts year after year just to balance their budgets and our children’s education is suffering. Classes are overcrowded, special education and ESL classes are being cut, the number of teachers and teaching assistants are being reduced, arts, sports and after school programs are being cancelled.

Some school boards are filling in the gaps by charging for services like tutoring. Others are turning to parents and teachers to pay for essential programs through fundraising. Dalton McGuinty has downloaded half a billion dollars on to hard pressed working parents and teachers. That’s not right.

The NDP would make sure schools have the resources they need by carrying out an annual public review of the funding formula – led by an all-party standing committee on education – as McGuinty promised to do four years ago but never delivered. The NDP would also stop making parents reach into their pockets to pay for school essentials by restoring the Local Priorities Grant and funding it the way the Education Equality Task Force recommended – at a rate of $200 per student. Children with autism will also get the support they deserve – the NDP will fund Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) services in classrooms and clear the waiting list for autism services.

Dalton McGuinty got it wrong when he broke his promise to fix the school funding formula. New Democrats will get it right and make sure that all kids have an equal start and get the education they deserve.

We will make sure all kids get the education they deserve:

• stop forcing parents to raise money for school essentials
• provide resources needed by children with autism and special needs
• expand early childhood education to include full day junior and senior kindergarten and expand ESL

Filed Under: Election 2007 | Making sure kids get quality education