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Showing posts with label Matt Richter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matt Richter. Show all posts

8.15.2012

End duplication before cutting our children’s education

Kitchener-Waterloo – Green Party of Ontario candidate Dr. Stacey Danckert was joined by Leader Mike Schreiner in Kitchener to outline the Green Party’s plan to strengthen Ontario’s school system by ending wasteful duplication in the public and Catholic boards.

“With the issue of school cuts dominating these by-elections, the choice for voters is clear,” says Schreiner. “Prioritize high-quality education for all children or protect the interests that want special funding for one religion at the exclusion of all others. Only the Green Party will fight to improve our children’s education with a fair and equitable school system.”

At the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO) general meeting in Toronto yesterday members voted in favour of a motion that would see public funding of public education in Ontario be limited to secular schools. Only the GPO is calling for a public commission to study merging the Catholic and public systems. 

Ontario is the only province that provides full public funding for a single faith while providing no funding for other faith-based schools. As a result the UN Human Rights Committee has censured Canada  in 1999 and 2005 for the discrimination in Ontario’s school system.

“McGuinty has repeatedly slammed the door on talking about this issue. Instead he continues to ram the Liberals’ political agenda down the throats of parents and teachers,” continued Schreiner. “Our children deserve a fair and equitable system regardless of their faith or sexual orientation.”

Recently Catholic Schools have come under fire for discouraging Gay Straight Alliances, student-run clubs that promote tolerance for diversity.

“The McGuinty Liberals are quick to place the burden on teachers and have failed to recognize how wasteful our system is,” added Danckert.

A study prepared by William J. Phillips, Past-President of The Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods of Ontario Inc. estimates savings from merging the school boards of $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion per year.

“It’s time to demand a better solution for our children and this province’s future,” added Dancket. “As your first Green MPP in Queen’s Park I will not let the other parties evade this issue any longer.”

4.11.2012

Plenty of savings to be found in education

Source: North Bay Nipissing.com

To the Editor:
I agree that the recent Ontario Budget had many obvious shortfalls. Education, in particular, missed two opportunities to find funds to avoid closing schools, and cutting educational assistants, secretaries, custodians, etc.

The strategy involves removing the duplication that exists throughout Ontario’s educational system, starting with the fact that Ontario taxpayers fund both a Public School system and a Catholic School system. The Green Party of Ontario stands alone as being the only voice of reason to merge the two, thereby recognizing savings from reductions in busing, building maintenance, infrastructure, administrators, etc.

The latest figures have valued this move at a savings of over $1 billion per year. Another area of duplication involves testing our students. The $35 million six-hour EQAO test has become totally redundant. The Green Party understands that school boards already administer assessments and tests that provide the same data as EQAO and provides feedback that is significantly timelier.

Combined savings of well over $1 billion can be achieved by accepting the short-sighted decision to close schools and cut educational assistants, secretaries, and custodians, or by advocating alongside the Green Party to merge the Catholic and Public school systems and eliminate EQAO.

Matt Richter
Green Party Education Critic