School fundraising gap widening
Disparity a big barrier to equity within public schools, report says
Some Ontario public schools collect up to $150,000 a year through parent and community fundraising, which means students can use iPads in classes or climb state-of-the-art playground equipment during recess.
Others raise only a fraction of that, and scramble to cover the costs of field trips or guest performers who could open kids’ eyes to different forms of music, art, dance and drama.
The gap between what the most affluent and poorest schools garner for educational “extras” beyond what the province pays for is wider than ever before, says a new report from People for Education.
“And these inequities seem to be growing,” according to the report, released Thursday and based on a survey of 1,244 principals.
The research and advocacy group has long argued that the disparity in school fundraising — which has become gradually entrenched over the past two decades — is one of the biggest barriers to equity in the public school system.
The new survey doesn’t provide information about specific schools. However, information obtained by the Star in the past couple of years reveals the gulf in the GTA and within the Toronto District School Board, which the TDSB has said it plans to address as part of its new equity plan this year.
The People for Education survey found that among elementary schools last year, the top 10 per cent of fundraisers brought in 37 times the amount raised by the bottom 10 per cent.
At the high school level, the top 5 per cent raised as much as the bottom 81 per cent combined.
That means the most disadvantaged students are missing out on valuable opportunities, says Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education.
“There are definitely discrepancies there, in technology, in arts and sports. Lots of (schools) are fundraising so (students) can go on trips, and schools that are raising $130,000 a year are obviously going to be at an advantage over schools that can’t raise anywhere near that.”
The report also draws the connection between schools’ fundraising capacity and students’ socioeconomic status.
Of the schools surveyed, those in the top quarter based on family income raised twice as much as those in the bottom quarter — an average of $44 per student versus $27 per student and a median amount per school of $12,000 versus $6,000.
The report warns that behind the numbers is a trend that leaves the most vulnerable students “facing a triple disadvantage.”
Research shows they are more likely to start school with a “competency gap” in social and cognitive skills.
While enriched learning outside the classroom through the arts, sports, clubs and other extracurriculars can help overcome it, the schools these kids attend are less likely to be able to fundraise to pay for those extras.
At the same time, their families may not be able to provide those opportunities outside school.
Six years ago, the province brought in guidelines that prohibit the use of outside funds for core education purposes such as textbooks or professional development. But schools can fundraise to “complement, not replace public funding” on things such as excursions, guest speakers or workshops such as Scientists in School, extracurriculars and upgrades to sports facilities.