The Privatization of Public Education

Introduction

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) believes that a high quality education for all, irrespective of needs and abilities, should be enshrined as a basic human right in the Canadian Constitution. The way to guarantee this right is through a well-financed public education system.

ETFO is opposed to vouchers, charter schools, and providing public money for private schools. These approaches to education undermine the democratic principles upon which public schools are founded.

ETFO endorses the Canadian Teachers’ Federation policy stating “programs of corporate involvement should meet an identified education need, not a commercial motive.”

Public Education Benefits All

Public education is perhaps the most important investment our province can make – a public investment in each child, in society, and in the future of and all its citizens.

Public education is the cornerstone of a democratic society. The money spent on public education belongs to the public and benefits all Ontarians, whether or not they have children in the public school system. Public education is governed by local, democratically elected schools boards, representing all members of the community.

Public schools are the only schools that must meet the needs of all students. Every child, regardless of religion, race, family status, residence, or ability, has the opportunity to be included in a public education system.

Public education unites society, facilitating an understanding and tolerance that cannot be found elsewhere. All students deserve a quality education, not only in the academic skills required in a future work force, but in the social skills of responsibility, tolerance, understanding, and caring for others.

The Threat to Public Education

Globally, spending on all levels of education exceeds $1,000 billion. It is estimated that total public and private spending on all levels of education is double this. In Canada, total public spending on education exceeds $52 billion. In addition, according to Statistics Canada, children spend more than $1.5 billion annually, and influence the spending of more than an additional $15 billion. Many corporations want access to this “market.” For the most part, corporate involvement in our schools focuses on children as consumers, not on children as the citizens of tomorrow.

Over the years in Ontario, there has been much discussion about education reform. A vocal minority is calling for more privatization of education and more school choice.

Privatization of public education, through tax breaks for parents who send their children to private schools, charter schools, public-private partnerships, vouchers, commercialism in the schools, as well as some aspects of fundraising, contributes to*:

• Inequity: Some schools and school communities have varying degrees of capacity to fundraise and otherwise attract outside funding.
• Competition for funding: Relying on private donors may create competition among programs and schools, as different institutions chase the same sources of funds.
• Targeted funding: Relying on private sources, through fundraising or corporate donations, allows those private sources, rather than schools and school boards, to make decisions on programs deemed more “worthy” of support.
• Conditional funding: Some private donors may attach strings – an advertising requirement, or the inclusion of certain students and the exclusion of others, or the use of specific curriculum – to their funding for public education.
• Selective funding: An increasing number of items, such as playground equipment, field trips, and even some classroom and learning resources, are being defined as “frills,” outside of government funding.
• Unstable funding: Many private sources of funding do not make commitments to provide the resources over any extended period, particularly in times of economic instability.
• Lack of educational quality control: Who ensures that the curriculum/classroom materials being provided to schools by corporate sources are unbiased, complete, and accurate?

Commercialism in Canadian Schools: Who’s Calling the Shots?

This report of a national survey on commercialism in Canada’s schools, the result of a partnership between the Canadian Teachers’ Federation, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and the Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement, was released in May 2006. Among other things, Who’s Calling the Shots? found that:

• Thirty-two percent of Canadian schools report that advertising is present, more in secondary schools than elementary schools. Most advertising in elementary schools was found on school supplies and in hallways, cafeterias and other school areas.
• Fifteen percent of elementary schools reported selling services to generate revenue.
• Two-thirds of schools charge user fees for school trips, and seventy-three percent fundraise for such trips.
• Sixty percent of elementary schools fundraise for library books.
• On average, elementary schools raise over $11,000 through such activities; secondary schools raise, on average, over $38,000.00.
• It is estimated that nationally, schools raise over $200 million through user fees, fundraising, and other such activities.
• Fifteen percent of elementary schools reported a partnership or sponsorship arrangement.
• Thirty percent of all schools reported having incentive programs (school communities collect products of product labels that can be redeemed for merchandise for their schools) although they were much more prevalent in elementary than secondary schools.

Resources Available

*Commercialism in Canadian schools: Who’s calling the shots? is available, along with more detailed provincial and territorial data, on the following websites:

 www.ctf-fce.ca

 www.policyalternatives.ca

 www.fse.qc.net