The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives released a study this month that shows Ontario's per-pupil funding in schools is far lower than most other jurisidictions in North America.
No Time for Complacency: Education Funding Reality Check ranks Ontario 46th when compared to all American States and ninth in Canada. British Columbia was slightly better in seventh place. (The study was released in Toronto and focuses on Ontario.)
In Canada, the Yukon spends the most at $17,624 per student per year, followed by the Northwest Territories at $14,274 and Nunavut at $13,273. B.C.'s per-pupil spending is $9,180 while Ontario's is $9,079, the study says. Prince Edward Island was on the bottom with $8,121.
"It's long past time for a major overhaul in how Ontario funds its public school system," says the study's author Hugh Mackenzie. "It's also time for a permanent, independent third party commission to depoliticize the funding process and make sure Ontario's schools get the funding they need to give students a fighting chance.
The study found New Jersey had the highest per-pupil fundng at $19,477.
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