Elementary Teachers Applaud Government Focus on Education

March 22, 2007

The Ontario budget released today confirms that the McGuinty government continues to pursue its commitment to enhance public education, says the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO).

“We applaud the government’s ongoing efforts to rebuild our education system by focusing on smaller primary class sizes, improved literacy and numeracy, more resources for schools, and expanded English-as-a-Second Language support,” said ETFO first vice-president David Clegg.

Clegg cautioned there must be clear provisions in place to ensure that the funding school boards receive for smaller primary classes is fully directed to that objective.  “The government must also monitor class sizes of higher elementary grades to ensure they do not increase as the result of the primary class size policy,” he said.

Clegg stressed that while elementary teachers appreciate the government’s continued focus on public education, more work is needed to close the gap in funding between elementary and secondary students.  “We believe the government will not achieve its goals of improved academic performance and a reduced high school drop out rate if it fails to address the continued underfunding of elementary education.”  

Clegg pointed out that the goal of higher student achievement also requires attention to the issue of child poverty in Ontario.

“We are pleased to see that the Budget has recognized the impact of poverty on educational success by ending the clawback of the National Child Benefit Supplement, creating a new Ontario Child Benefit, and establishing a process to raise the hourly minimum wage to $10.25 from $8 over the next three years.”

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario represents more than 70,000 public elementary school teachers and education workers across Ontario and is the largest teacher federation in Canada.