LOGAN'S PONY CLUB
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ECKER SPEAKS TO SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING
Good morning Janet,
I was at an Assembly of School Council meeting the other night and the HWDSB chair, Judith Bishop made a presentation that completely blamed underfunding by your government. When I questioned her about the wonky numbers compared to their report card, I was ridiculed as a government stooge in front of 200 parents. I think it is wrong that she should not take some responsibility for the state of education in Hamilton. I know that the board has made a mess of amalgamation and after five years has made little progress. In all honesty, I would caution your ministry to carefully look at what Hamilton has done. A forensic audit is needed because there may be $8 million in reserves missing according to their report card when compared to Judith's presentation numbers.
Perhaps your ministry needs to show this board how to get its house in order first. I would like to sent you a copy of what she has put forth so that you can help me figure out where they need improvement so that I can properly challenge her with facts to counter-balance her one sided presentation. If you can find the time to help me on this, please respond. Thanks for all the help for my less able boy Logan who is in regular classes. He is thriving and having the time of his life, and rightly so.
Mark-Alan Whittle
From: Janet Ecker
Thank you for your e-mail about funding to school boards and your son's special education needs, I appreciate your kind words of support, and I am pleased to reply.
As you note in your correspondence, it is a key priority of the Ontario government to provide supports to students with special needs so that they can learn, grow, and reach their full potential. That is why we have continued to make steady improvements in how special education is delivered in the province.
We have increased special education funding levels every year since the government introduced student-focused funding, That means an increase of 17 percent since 1998/99, Based on the advice of our education partners, we have focused the additional funding on areas of need. For example, we have increased funding for students with the highest needs by more than $150 million, and we have also committed $70 million per year to the early identification of learning problems and other exceptionalities for students in Junior Kindergarten to Grade 3.
In 2001/02, school boards will receive more than $1.37 billion in special education funding, This funding is enveloped at last year's level, meaning that it is protected and can only be used for special education.
Increased accountability and province-wide standards are also key parts of Ontario's plan for quality education. A student's Individual Education Plan (IEP) is the key element in this new approach, IEPs are developed at the local level, with teachers, principals, and parents working together to prepare documents that give parents a clear picture of the types of programs and services that boards will be providing to their children. Clearer information means a stronger voice for parents in planning and guiding their children's education.
As you know, it is the responsibility of the school board to provide each and every student with special needs with the program service levels outlined in the student's IEP.
Another important element of our quality education plan is having program standards for each exceptionality. When this work is completed, there will be provincial standards for assessment, identification, and programming for students with autism, and all other exceptionalities.
For our part, we have allocated over $36 million to the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (DSB) in 2001/02 to help the board meet its special education commitments. In addition, the Board's total funding allocation for 2001/02 is projected to increase by 0.7 percent over 2000/01, while enrolment growth is expected to remain unchanged. The Hamilton-Wentworth DSB will also have access to $5.6 million in flexible funding that it can use to meet local priorities, including special education. Through this enhanced funding, the Hamilton-Wentworth DSB should be well-equipped to maintain supports for the students it served last year, and to respond to any new needs.
We know that the actions we have taken are making a difference for our students with special needs, but there is still more to be done. I look forward to working with our partners in education to ensure that all of our students receive the services and programs that they deserve.
Thank you again for writing. Please accept my very best wishes for Logan's success in all his academic endeavours.
Sincerely,
Janet Ecker
Minister of Finance and past Minister of Education