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Canadas Approachto School Funding
The Adoption o Provincial Controlo Education Funding in Three Provinces
Juliana Herman May 2013
WWW.AMERICANPROGRESS.O
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Canadas Approachto School FundingThe Adoption o Provincial Control
o Education Funding in Three Provinces
Juliana Herman May 2013
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1 Introduction and summary
5 Background
7 Alberta
15 British Columbia
21 Ontario
29 Lessons: What can the United States learn from Canada?
33 Conclusion
35 About the author and acknowledgements
37 Appendix
41 Endnotes
Contents
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Introduction and summary | www.americanprogress.
Introduction and summary
Te academic success o Finland, Souh Korea, and ohers on recen inernaional
ess has sparked a renewed ineres among educaors and hose concerned wih
educaion policy in he Unied Saes in looking o oher counries or examples o
how we migh improve our educaion sysem. eacher raining and qualiy in lead-
ing counries has received a lo o atenion, bu we should also be paying atenion
o and rying o learn rom he way oher counries und heir schools. Many high-
achieving counries have atained greaer equiy in heir sysems o school nance,
and heir mehods and approaches can and should serve as examples or how U.S.saes could implemen more equiable unding schemes.
Specically, his repor looks a how our neighbor o he norh, Canadaa coun-
ry ha has consisenly preormed well on inernaional essunds is schools.
Several provinces have successully implemened school-unding sysems ha are
more equiable han hose in mos U.S. saes. o deermine how Canada has gone
abou designing a more equiable school-unding scheme, his repor ocuses on
hree provincesAlbera, Briish Columbia, and Onarioeach o which has
adoped provincial-level unding sysems ha aim o achieve greaer school-und-
ing equaliy and equiy. In hese sysems he provincewhich in erms o govern-
men organizaion roughly parallels he sae level in he Unied Saeshas aken
on ull responsibiliy or is own educaion unding.
Tis repor explores he design o hese hree provinces dieren school-unding
sysems. For each province, we look a where educaion dollars come rom; who
has he axing auhoriy; how school resources are allocaed and wheher ha
allocaion is more or less equiable; and wha oher educaion money is raised and
how ha migh impac he broader goal o equaliy and equiy o school resources.
A ew key ndings emerge rom his analysis:
Tese hree provinces have successully ransiioned rom a join provincial-
local unding sysem o a provincial-level unding sysema sysem ha has he
poenial o promoe a leas equaliy, i no equiy, in school unding.
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2 Center or American Progress | Canadas Approach to School Funding
Each province has aken a dieren approach o designing and implemening a
provincial-level unding sysem, which has included ailoring heir sysem based
on specic needs and prioriies. Tis is especially rue regarding he role and use
o local propery-ax dollars under he provincial-level unding sysem. Albera,
Briish Columbia, and Onario hus provide hree dieren models o how such
a sysem migh work.
Tere is a grea deal o exibiliy when i comes o deermining how much
power local boards and schools reain in erms o heir abiliy o raise local axes,
undraise, or charge school ees. o highligh his poin, in no case were schools
denied he abiliy o raise addiional unding, bu he parameers o ha varied
depending upon he province.
Each province mainains and reinorces a srong commimen o local conrol o
educaion. School boards, or he mos par, have he power over and auhoriy
o decide how o spend and allocae unding, despie he provincial-level undingsysem. School boards are eleced in Albera,1 Briish Columbia,2 and Onario.3
A provincial-level unding sysem may allow or more sable and predicable
school budgeing. Funding schools a he provincial level creaes a broader ax
base han he more radiional sysem ha depends on local propery wealh,
which has ineviable ye less predicable and oen very unevenly dispersed uc-
uaions in value and hus revenue.
Tese provincial-level unding sysems serve as a clear reminder o he key dis-
incion beween equaliy and equiy and underscore he ac ha how dollars
are allocaed is jus as imporan as he amoun and sources o unding.
Provincial-level unding sysems are no wihou drawbacks and are no a
oolproo plan or eiher sufcien or equiable school resources, bu hey may
oer a way o implemen a more equiable unding sysem and hereore are
worhy o sudy.
Saes in his counry should no be araid o underaking sysemaic unding.
Cerainly, here will be poliical and implemenaion challenges, bu a growingnumber o policymakers, voers, advocaes, eachers, parens, and sudens are
becoming dissaised wih he saus quo. Quesions o educaion governance and
school nance require boh bold hinking and innovaive acion.
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Introduction and summary | www.americanprogress.
I is imporan o noe ha his repor only looks a he mehod o unding school
disrics. I does no address he essenial quesions o how unds are disribued
o schools wihin a disric or he capaciy o he provinces or school boards o do
so. Ye or a sysem o be ruly equiable, i mus allocae dollars a all levels based
on suden needssomehing ha many school disrics ail o do in he Unied
Saes. Adoping a more equiable sysem o unding school disrics and evenmoving o a sae-level unding sysem would hus only be one elemen in creaing
and implemening a ully equiable school-unding sysem.4
Finally, we know ha adoping equiable unding sysems will no in isel lead o
equal educaional opporuniies, bu equiable school unding is an essenial acor
in creaing a sysem in which all sudens have access o a high-qualiy educaion
and hereore have he chance o achieve academic success.
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Background | www.americanprogress.
Background
For progressive educaion reormers, equiy in school unding means ha all
disrics and schools receive resources based on he educaional needs o heir
specic sudens. Wheher educaion unds are rom ederal, sae, or local govern-
mens, hey are allocaed based on he diering needs o sudens and no based
on he wealh o a disric or school. Some sudenssudens wih special educa-
ional needs or English language learners, or examplerequire more resources in
order o have equal educaional opporuniies. Wihou exra resources, such su-
dens are much less likely o be academically successul and o do well in odayschallenging and compeiive global economy.
Educaion expers such as Marguerie Roza5 and Proessor Bruce Baker6 have
documened specic shorcomings wih he curren school-unding sysem in he
Unied Saes. Tey poin ou ha mos saes have ailed o adop and imple-
men equiable unding sysems. Insead, over ime saes have cobbled ogeher a
pachwork sysem o unding schools whereby school disrics are unded by an
illogical and disorganized combinaion o ederal, sae, and local resources.
For schools and disrics across he counry, unding rom local sources makes up
abou 40 percen o all school resources.7 Te large majoriy o his unding comes
rom local propery axes. Tis means a disrics abiliy o raise money locally
depends on is wealh. In pracice, his means propery-rich disrics are able o raise
more money, oen wih lower ax raes, while propery-poor disrics sruggle o
raise he needed resources or educaion, even when employing higher ax raes. In
general, saes have adoped sae-unding sysems ha are aimed a [a]ccouning
or dierences in he abiliy o local public school disrics o cover hose coss o
raise educaion dollars, according o a 2012 CAP repor, Te Sealh Inequiies o
School Funding.8
Bu in mos cases, hese sysems have ailed o eliminae he grossinequiies in unding ha exis beween low- and high-wealh school disrics.9 As a
resul, many high-povery disrics and schools coninue o receive ewer sae and
local resources han heir low-povery counerpars, despie he documened need
or greaer resources in hose disrics and schools.
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Policymakers have spen decades o work and millions o dollars rying o reool
he exising sae-unding sysems in order o make hem equiable and o provide
resources o he sudens who need hem mos. Bu i is ime o recognize ha
simply puting paches on he exising hodgepodge mehod o unding schools
will no be enough. I a ruly equiable sysem is o replace he curren one, poli-
cymakers and advocaes need o rehink enirely how public schools in he UniedSaes are unded.
Forunaely, here is no need o sar rom scrach. Former Presiden Richard
Nixons Commission on School Finance and he Cener or American Progresss
Vice Presiden or Educaion Policy Cynhia Brown, or example, have boh pro-
posed ha, Sae governmens assume responsibiliy or nancing subsanially
all o he nonederal oulays or elemenary and secondary educaion wih local
supplemens provided up o a level no o exceed 10 percen o he Sae alloca-
ion.10 Tis proposal is no unlike he sysems implemened in Albera, Briish
Columbia, and Onario.
A litle background on educaion in Canada and in hese hree provinces: Unlike
in he Unied Saes, here is no ederal deparmen or minisry o educaion in
Canada. Te Canadian Consiuion gives exclusive power o make Laws in rela-
ion o Educaion o he provincial legislaures.11 Despie his provision, provin-
cial governmens have hisorically shared responsibiliy or unding schools wih
local municipaliies and school boards.
Over he pas ew decades, however, Albera, Briish Columbia, and Onario
hree o he our mos populous provinces12 wih suden populaions o a similar
size o hose in mos U.S. saeseach moved o a unique version o a provincial-
unding sysem. Tese provinces also happen o be Canadas rs-, second-, and
hird-ranked provinces on he 2009Program for International Student Assessment,
orPISA, reading secion, and would have been he h-, sixh-, and eighh-ranked
counries in he world13 i ranked individually. On he more recen Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study, or IMSS, boh Onario and Albera
scored above average in mah and science or ourh grade, and saisically he
same or beter han he Unied Saes or eighh-grade mah and science.14 Teir
size, srong academic success, and unique approaches o unding make heminsrucive vehicles o sudy.
Les ake a closer look a each province in urn.
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Alberta | www.americanprogress.
Alberta
Albera has almos 600,000 public-school sudens, which is roughly similar in size
o each o he suden populaions in Oregon and Uah.15 Tese sudens atend
schools across 64 school boards wih an educaion budge o abou $5.5 billion.16
On he 2009 PISA, Albera was second in he world in reading and eighh in mah.17
Prior o is 1994 reorm eors,18 Alberas educaion-unding sysem was similar
o he sysems in many U.S. saes. Schools were unded hrough a combinaion
o local axes levied and colleced by municipaliies and revenue rom he pro-vincial governmen. Te Calgary Board o Educaion, or example, raised abou
40 percen o is revenues hrough he local ax base.19 Ye as he ormer Albera
Educaion Miniser Gary Mar explained, under his dual-unding sysem, he per-
suden amoun ha school boards had o spend was deermined by he wealh
o he local ax base, insead o by he needs o he sudens. As a resul, large
inequiies exised, said Mar.20
When he lae Albera Premier21 Ralph Klein came o power in 1993, his govern-
men underook a signican reorm o he educaion-unding sysemone ha
wen righ o he hear o unding inequaliy.22 I adoped a new sysem under which
he province would be responsible or providing all unding or Alberas schools.23
Te province would se he unding level and deermine he mehod o unding allo-
caion. Individual school boardswih he excepion o separae religious boards
would no longer raise general school unds hrough local axaion.24
Albera ook an innovaive approach in designing is new provincial-level unding
sysem. Te miniser o educaion deermines each school boards educaion-oper-
aing budge using he provinces allocaion ormula;25 boards hen receive his
unding allomen rom a combinaion o propery axes and general provincialrevenues.26 Overall, propery axes conribue abou 32 percen o he oal provin-
cial educaion budge.27 Te key disincion is ha under he provincial-level und-
ing sysem, local school disrics no longer se heir own propery-ax raes nor
do hey spend he money raised rom propery axes locally.28 Insead, under he
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provinces educaion saue, called he School Act, he Albera provincial govern-
men has he auhoriy o levy axes or school purposes;29 and he lieuenan gov-
ernor in council30 ses he propery-ax raes or he enire province.31 Tese raes
are uniorm across he province wihin a ax caegory bu may vary by caegory.32
o illusrae his poin, in 2012 he residenial and armland rae was 2.7 mills and
or nonresidenial propery i was 3.97 mills.33
Ineresingly, he provincial govern-men saes ha since assuming responsibiliy or educaion propery axes, he
province has cu residenial educaion propery ax raes by 64.7 percen.34
Alberas School Actrequires municipaliies o levy hese ax raes on all assess-
able propery,35 bu insead o urning he money over o school boards, he
municipaliies pay he money o he province. Specically, he money goes o a
newly creaed eniy called he Albera School Foundaion Fund, or ASFF.36 Te
und collecs all o he propery axes raised or school purposes in he province
and hen makes paymens o each school board on a per-pupil basis.37 Each
board hus receives he same amoun per pupil. Te amoun is deermined bysimply dividing he oal amoun raised rom propery axes by he number o
eligible sudens in he province.38
According o Alberas governmen, Pooling he educaion propery ax in he
ASFF ensures ha sudens receive a qualiy educaion regardless o heir munici-
paliys [propery] assessmen wealh.39 Or, as he Albera Minisry o Municipal
Aairshe provincial deparmen responsible or assising municipaliies wih
local governmenphrases i, he und creaes equiable unding or sudens no
mater where hey live.40 Logisically, propery axes could roll up o he provin-
cial level wihou being segmened ino a separae und, bu Albera specically
chose o creae he ASFF in order o allow or he separae accouning o educa-
ion propery ax unding.41 Te advanage o his approach is ha he separae
und provides ransparency o voers. Ofcials are able o ensure ha all propery-
ax revenue raised or school purposes is spen enirely on sudens.
Albera has radiional public school boards such as hose in he Unied Saes,
bu hey also have wha are called separae school boards.42 Tese separae
school boardsare, in essence, or public religious schools.43 Members o eiher he
Roman Caholic or Proesan aih can choose o orm a separae school board inorder o educae he children o heir aih.44 (Tough i here is sufcien space
and resources, any child regardless o aih may enroll in a separae school.45) In
Albera here are 17 separae school boards ou o a oal o 64 school boards.46
Tis covers abou 23 percen o sudens in public schools.47 Unlike radiional
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Alberta | www.americanprogress.
school boards, separae school boards are no required o paricipae in he
Albera School Foundaion Fund.48 Tey can insead choose o op ou and raise
par o heir operaion unding rom locally designed propery-ax sources.49
Heres how i works: I a separae board chooses o op ou, i requisiion[s]
and collec[s] propery ax money rom he municipaliies direcly and spendshose dollars direcly on is sudens, insead o deposiing hem ino he und.50
Tese dollars come rom axes on he propery o only hose who share he same
religious aih as hose o he separae school board.51 Tus, or example, a Roman
Caholic separae school board would be unded by propery axes paid by Roman
Caholics who live in he relevan municipaliy.
I an oped-ou separae school board receives less rom propery axes han he
per-pupil amoun i would have received i i had paricipaed in he Albera
School Foundaion Fund, hen he und ops o provides addiional money
ohe separae board o bring is propery-ax unding o he per-pupil amounreceived by every oher school board in Albera.52 Tis ensures ha he separae
school boards choice o paricipae in he und is a rue choice. On he oher
hand, i he separae school board receives more in propery axes han i would
have received rom he ASFF, he board mus pay he dierence o he und.53 Tis
ensures ha separae boards do no receive any nancial advanage rom oping
ou. All o Alberas separae school boards have oped ou o he Albera School
Foundaion Fund.54 Oping ou allows he religious communiy o use is dollars
o und is schools, poenially creaing a sronger sense o religious communiy.
Te Unied Saes, o course, does no have public religious schools, bu he separae
board sysem is a wis on he Albera school-unding sysem and hus provides an
alernaive model or a provincial-level unding sysem. I local communiies in a
sae eel srongly ha hey would like heir ax dollars o und primarily heir own
schools, raher han having ha money pooled, saes could se up a similar op-ou
sysem. Equaliy would be mainained by limiing he amoun per pupil ha disrics
could spend rom money raised locally o he same amoun ha he communiy
would have received had i paricipaed in he pooled sysem. Furher, disrics
would be required o direc o he sae pool any money hey raise in excess o he
amoun hey would have received had hey paricipaed in he sae pool.
On op o each school boards allomen rom he Albera School Foundaion
Fundor he propery axes raised locallyeach disric receives he res o
is operaing budge, as deermined by he provinces allocaion ormula, rom
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Alberas general revenue und.55 Te general revenue und is made up o income
ax, royalies, gaming, Federal ransers and invesmen income and oher rev-
enue sources.56
Alberas allocaion ormula is designed o equiably disribue provincial unding
o suppor he educaion o all Albera children.57
Te ormula has ve caegories:
1. Base insrucion unding
2. Addiional unding or dierenial cos acors
3. argeed unding or provincial iniiaives
4. Oher provincial suppor unding
5. Capial unding58
ogeher, hese caegories comprise abou 25 dieren educaion grans.59 Te
base insrucion unding is provided per pupil based on he sudens grade level
and or 10h- o 12h-grade sudens on he ype and number o course credis.60
Addiional unding is provided based on he addiional needs o he disrics
sudens or he disric as a whole.61 Te ormula, or example, akes ino con-
sideraion he socioeconomic saus o he suden populaion, he addiional
needs o English language learners, or he increased coss o operaing small
schools by necessiy.62
In conras o several sae-unding ormulas in he Unied Saes, in considering
socioeconomic saus he Albera ormula regards no only household income
or a basic povery measure, bu also oher acors such as he educaion o he
sudens mohers, he percen o single-paren households, homeowners, and
parens wihou possecondary educaion, and he rae o ransience o he suden
populaion.63 Te addiional unding is deermined a he disric level, no a he
school level, and hus is based on he disrics needs as a whole.64 argeed und-
ing is provided or hings such as suden healh or school improvemen.65
Albera does provide some public unding or privae schools. Abou 4 percen
o Alberas sudens, or 24,000 pupils, atend privae schools.66 Privae schools
classied as level 1 receive 60 percen o he base insrucion rae or school
jurisdicions, and level 2 schools receive 70 percen o he applicable grans.67
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Alberta | www.americanprogress.o
TAXES
SCHOOL-DISTRICT LEVEL
Property
PlebisciteLimit: 3 percent
of budget maximum
Schools
Fundraising
Provincial government
General revenueAlberta School
Foundation Fund
PeopleIncome taxes, corporate taxes, royalties,
investments, and gaming
Student fees
Alberta school-funding formulasets per-district amount
Sets per-pupil dollar amount(about 32 percent)
School district
SCHOOL LEVEL
PROVINCE LEVEL
Sets tax rates
School funding in Alberta
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o become a level 2 school and receive addiional unding, privae schools mus
agree o addiional accounabiliy requiremens dicaed by he provincial gov-
ernmen.68 Privae schools can also receive resources rom oher specic unding
grans.69 Bu public unding or privae schools only comes rom provincial general
revenues.70 Privae schools receive no propery-ax revenue.71
Alhough no direcly relaed o he equiy o he unding sysem, Albera has also
aken seps o increase he sabiliy o school unding and has hus improved he
abiliy o disrics and schools o budge successully. Te province has ried o
esablished a hree-year unding cycle or educaion, creaing sabiliy and predic-
abiliy so ha sudens, parens, eachers, suppor sa and school boards can
keep heir ocus on he classroom resuls ha mater mos 72 and make longer
erm plans or educaional programming.73
Despie changes in is school-unding sysem and he move o provincial-level
unding, he Albera educaion-governance srucure coninues o promoe localconrol and local decision making by individual school boards. School boards are
given a lo o exibiliy when i comes o how hey spend heir school-unding
allocaions. According o Albera school ofcials, approximaely 98 percen o
unding is exible, meaning school auhoriies have discreion o use he unds
o mee he needs o heir sudens, as long as he boards decisions are consis-
en wih Alberas School Actand oher sauory and regulaory requiremens.74
Even hough he province may deermine a boards oal school budge allocaion
hrough a complex unding ormula wih ve caegories and numerous subcaego-
ries, a school board iswih a ew excepions75no acually required o spend
he money i receives or a given caegory on only ha caegory. I is up o he
board o recognize he unique needs o is sudens and decide how o allocae
unds appropriaely o mee hose needs.
Te School Actdoes no srip school boards o all power o raise unds locally.
Te inen is o provide all he unding needed a he provincial level, bu boards
are sill permited o hold a plebiscie in order o ge approval o levy a special
school ax.76 Te School Actdoes limi he amoun his levy can raise o be a
mos 3 percen o he boards budge or he applicable year.77 Tis ensures ha
i a board does choose o raise money locally, he amoun does no signicanlyundermine he broader equaliy and equiy principles o he unding sysem.
Boards and schools are also permited o collec ees and o undraise, hough
only or specically permited purposes.78 Schools canno charge uiion ees or
residen sudens, or example, as public educaion mus be oered ree o charge.
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Alberta | www.americanprogress.o
Bu hey can charge ees or nonresidens or inernaional sudens and can charge
all sudens ees or alernaive programs, copies o suden records, early child-
hood services, ransporaion ees, coninuing educaion, insrucional supplies,
and maerials.79
Schools are also permited o raise unds o suppor exra services and acivi-ies, bu canno spend undraising resources on core iems.80 Te deniions
o hese erms and he boundaries creaed by heir limiaions are no immedi-
aely apparen and hus may creae an opening o undermine he equaliy in he
provinces sysem. For he 201112 school year, undraising, gis, and donaions
made up almos 3 percen o oal school revenues, while ees made up jus more
han 1 percen.81 As a whole, his is generally consisen wih he idea ha a und-
ing sysem migh allow up o a 10 percen variaion in unding levels no based
on dierences in needs and sill be equiable. Te acual impac on equaliy and
equiy, however, depends on he disribuion o hese resources among schools. I
a ew boards and schools raised he large majoriy o addiional unds while ohersreceived only small addiional amouns, his would be inconsisen wih he goal
o esablishing an equiable unding sysem.
Alberas unding reorm and curren sysem is no wihou criics. Proessors
Dean Neu o he Universiy o Calgary and Alison aylor o he Universiy o
Albera have noed ha he impac o Alberas new, more equiable provincial-
level unding sysem was no he same or all school boards.82 Aer he sysem was
reormed in 1994, some boards such as Calgarys saw a disproporionally greaer
reducion in per-pupil unding, relaive o he province as a whole.83 Tis criicism
is oen ound in discussions abou changing or even merely adjusing school-
unding sysems. Moving rom an inequiable sysem o an equiable sysem will
impac disrics dierenly depending on heir curren unding sysem and und-
ing levels relaive o oher disrics, bu he specic impac can be alleviaed by
careully designing a phase-in or unding changes ha mainains, a leas iniially,
curren unding levelsha is, one ha holds disrics harmless by mainaining
heir curren unding levelsor insead levels up all disrics. I is imporan o
remember ha he goal o an equiable unding sysem is ulimaely o provide
resources based on he needs o sudens, and i is hose needs, no curren und-
ing levels, which should drive uure resource allocaions.
In anoher paper, Neu and aylor along wih co-auhor Frank Peers, a proessor a
he Universiy o Albera, have also quesioned wheher he new unding sysem
acually reduced variance in unding across disrics. Teir analyses sugges ha
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14 Center or American Progress | Canadas Approach to School Funding
he overall variabiliy o unding has remained abou he same under he new
unding mechanism.84 Bu aylor, Neu, and Peers poin ou ha he reason
or his may be ha he previous unding mechanisms did a reasonable job in
compensaing or he dierenial axaion capaciies o school disrics in Albera,
somehing ha researchers have ound no o be rue or many U.S. saes.85 I is
also imporan o noe ha variance in per-pupil unding is no inherenly bad. Inac, here oen is variance in an equiable unding sysem because in such a sys-
em hose sudens wih greaer needs receive greaer resources. Te key quesion
is he source o he variance: propery wealh or suden need?
As a nal cavea, i is no clear ha he acual moivaion behind Alberas unding-
sysem reorm was pro-educaion. Alhough he provinces miniser o educaion
saed ha one o he raionales or resrucuring was o provide more dollars or
he classroom,86 some believe ha he rue purpose o he reorm was o cu coss
and reduce he amoun spen on educaion by resricing he abiliy o school boards
o levy high propery axes.87 Te reorm package did include an approximaely12-percen reducion in educaion unding over a our-year period.88 Since a leas
2006, however, he province has increased overall unding by abou $1 billion. 89
Similarly, he Albera School Boards Associaion has poined ou ha he provin-
cial-unding allocaion deermines how unds are allocaed o school boards,
bu does no address he issue o wheher ha unding level is enough o mee he
needs o Alberas sudenshe amoun o money disribued is deermined by
he provincial governmens budge.90 I is cerainly possible o have an equiable
unding sysem ha ails o provide sufcien overall unding or schools, and he
wo issues mus no be conaed.
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British Columbia
Briish Columbia has jus more han 550,00091 public-school sudens enrolled in
1,600 schools across 60 school boards.92 For he 201112 school year, he prov-
ince spen more han $4.6 billion on educaion, excluding capial unding.93
Briish Columbia was one o he rs provinces o move o a provincial-level und-
ing sysem, insiuing he reorms in he early 1990s. Briish Columbias school-
unding sysem is similar o ha o Albera, embracing unding equaliy and
provincial-level responsibiliy or he provision o educaion resources.94 BriishColumbias School Actrequires ha all residen children mus be provided wih an
educaion ree o charge,95 and ha he goal o is unding sysem is o allocae
resources so ha sudens in all disrics have an equal opporuniy o receive
a qualiy educaion.96 Te province has generally succeeded in implemening
an enirely provincial-level unding sysem: For he 201213 school year, 94.4
percen o he oal budgeed revenue or Briish Columbias 60 school boards will
come rom he province.97 Te res will come rom sources such as uiion paid by
inernaional sudens, ees, and aciliy renal charges.
Te provincial governmen deermines he oal provincial educaion operaing-
gran level.98 Tis gran is hen allocaed o school boards using Briish Columbias
unding-allocaion ormula.99 Te provincial educaion grans are a combina-
ion o propery axes and general provincial unds.100 Te School Actgives he
provincial governmen he power o levy a school ax on propery and gives he
lieuenan governor in council he power o se ax raes.101 Tese propery raes
can vary among, and even wihin, school disrics and among ypes o propery,
wih he excepion ha here is a provincewide rae or nonresidenial propery.102
Tus, or example, in 2012 he propery-ax rae in Vancouverhe provinces
larges ciywas $1.3646 per housand dollars o valuaion, while he rae orAbbosordan hour awaywas $2.2716 per housand dollars.103 Mill raes
are deermined hrough a process ha considers propery value and densiy.
Vancouver has boh high propery values and high densiy, whereas Abbosord is
a mix o rural and ciy properies, and he values aren as high.
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16 Center or American Progress | Canadas Approach to School Funding
Residenial propery axes und abou 13 percen o educaion coss, while
nonresidenial axes und abou 19 percen.104 Municipaliies collec hese axes
and hen urn hem over o he provinces miniser o nance.105 Unlike Alberas
sysem, however, Briish Columbia does no allocae propery axes separaely
rom he general revenue unds. Tey are allocaed ogeher hrough he unding-
allocaion ormula. While here is a specic propery ax known as he schoolax, i does no necessarily und only educaion or even direcly correlae wih he
unding or schools.
Briish Columbias allocaion ormula disribues operaing unds in hree chunks:
1. Basic allocaion gran, which comprises abou 80 percen o all provincial
operaing unding106
2. Grans based on unique suden needs, which comprise abou 12 percen
o unding107
3. Grans based on unique disric needs, which comprise abou 8 percen
o unding108
Note: Capital funding is provided through a separate grant.109
Under he heading o unique suden needs are addiional resources or he exra
needs o English language learners, or special-educaion services, and or vulner-
able sudens, he deniion o which includes, among oher characerisics, hose
living in povery, and hose rom single-paren homes and wih aduls who did no
graduae high school.110 Disric needs include, or example, small sizeless han
250 elemenary sudenslow or declining enrollmen, or he rural naure o he
disric.111 Te unding ormula also provides addiional resources o disrics wih
higher average eacher salaries relaive o he provincial average.112 Tis adjus-
men is no inherenly inequiable and in ac migh promoe equiy i is purpose
is o adjus or higher coss o living. Bu i in is implemenaion his provision
compensaes some owns or choosing o pay heir eachers more han oher
disrics or allows more experienced and hus higher-paid eachers o cluser in
some disrics by providing hose disrics wih he exra money needed or hoseeachers, he inclusion o his adjusmen migh undermine equiy.
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TAXES
Property
Local referendumLimited to funding select
education purposes
Provincial government
Provincial general revenue
PeopleIncome taxes, sales tax, corporate tax, and fees
About 32 percent
of total funding
School district
SCHOOL LEVEL
PROVINCE LEVEL
Sets tax rates
SCHOOL-DISTRICT LEVEL
School-funding formula determines funding amount foreach district (94.4 percent total education revenue)
School funding in British Columbia
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18 Center or American Progress | Canadas Approach to School Funding
Te percenage o unding allocaed or each o hese hree chunks is imporan
because i shows ha he large bulk o unding is allocaed on he grounds o
equaliyhe same amoun or each suden, regardless o needs. Addiional
unding is provided based on suden and disric needs, bu considering he
research on he size o he addiional resource weighs needed or poor sudens,
he Briish Columbia sysem is no as equiable as i migh be. Ye even adopingan equal per-suden unding sysem migh be progress or many U.S. saes.
Similar o Albera, local conrol o educaion coninues o be prominen in
Briish Columbia, despie he provincial-level unding sysem. According o he
provincial Minisry o Educaion, boards decide how o allocae heir provin-
cial grans based on local spending prioriies.113 O course, school boards sill
have o ollow provincial laws and regulaions and, as is oen rue in he Unied
Saes, personnel and eacher-salary coss can consume a signican porion o
a disrics budge. School disrics may hereore no eel ha hey have much
conrol over heir budges. Tis, however, is he resul o acors unrelaed ohe ac ha he province employs a provincial-level unding sysem, and he
wo should no be unairly linked.
Also as in Albera, provincial-level unding and a ocus on equaliy and equiy
does no mean ha here is no variance in per-pupil expendiures among school
disrics. In he 201213 school year, Alberas average budgeed operaing expen-
diure per pupil was $9,092 in Canadian dollars, bu he range or disrics wih a
leas 500 sudens was rom $16,952 in he own o Haida Gwaii o $8,073 in he
ciy o Chilliwack. Moreover, only 21 o he 60 disrics are wihin $500 dollars
per pupil o he provincial average.114
Even wih he provincial-level unding sysem, school boards in Briish Columbia
sill have he power o raise money locally and rom local propery axes.115 Te
School Actallows boards o auhorize he holding o a local reerendum o raise
money or selec educaion purposeso provide or new programs, o enhance
exising programs[,] or addiional aciviies or sudens or or local capial proj-
ec iniiaives.116 Bu he School Actis very clear ha hese unds canno be use[d]
o und operaing decis.117 Reerendums are good or only one year and mus be
reapproved annually by voers or he addiional unding o coninue.118
Unlike inAlbera, here is no maximum amoun ha a school board can raise hrough a re-
erendum. Briish Columbia has insead chosen o proec is goals o equaliy and
equiy by resricing he use raher han he amoun o unds, much akin o wha
Albera does or ees and undraising. Ye despie he ac ha school boards have
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his reerenda power, his provision has rarely been used. According o Briish
Columbias 2012 o 2013 annual school disric budges repor, no school disric
has included revenue rom a school-reerendum ax in is budge.119
School boards, however, do appear o use heir power o charge eesin cerain
circumsancesand o undraise. According o he Briish Columbia eachersFederaion, he provincewide umbrella eachers union o which all public-school
eachers belong,120 in he 201011 school year, disrics raised $175.4 million
in school-generaed unds121abou 4 percen o he oal budge.122 More
signicanly or equaliy purposes, he op undraising disrics raised a oal o
$97,538,42655 percen o he oal amoun raisedwhile he botom 10 dis-
rics raised only $2,423,502, or 1.4 percen o he oal.123
I is imporan o recognize ha merely implemening an equal-unding sysem on
paper does no ensure his sysem is acually execued in any given year. During
he 201112 school year, or example, he provincial-unding gran included ahold-harmless provision.124 Tis means ha regardless o wha suden enrollmen
was in all 2011, or wha he needs o he sudens acually enrolled were, each
school board received a leas he same amoun in unding as i received in all
2010.125 Such hold-harmless provisions can be essenial or sabiliy when imple-
mening a new unding sysem or in he wake o signican and unanicipaed
changes in disric composiions; ouside o such special circumsances, however,
hese provisions can undermine he principle ha educaion unds be allocaed
based on he needs o sudens. Tis is paricularly rue i he legislaure has
allocaed a limied amoun o money or a given year; a hold-harmless provision
in his case can ake resources away rom he sudens who need i he mos. Tus,
even hough Briish Columbia seems o have adoped a more equiable unding
sysem or he 201112 school year, is acual implemenaion may have been less
equiable han appearances sugges.126
I is also imporan o noe ha Briish Columbia spends less on educaion in
general han he res o he counry. In a 2012 documen, he Briish Columbia
eachers Federaion oulined how he province has allen behind he res o
Canada in erms o school-unding levels. According o he ederaion, he
province ranks las among Canadas 10 provinces in operaing expendiures,oal expendiures, and oal expendiures per suden and per capia.127 Briish
Columbia also ranks 9h ou o he 10 provinces in he percen o is gross domes-
ic produc spen on educaion.128 Tis highlighs a key disincion beween he
mehod o allocaing unding and he level o unding, boh o which are essenial
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20 Center or American Progress | Canadas Approach to School Funding
o ensuring sudens have he resources hey need o succeed. Tere are, however,
wo imporan caveas. Firs, i can be hard o compare sheer expendiures across
provincesas i is across saesbecause here are dierences in cos o living,
among oher variaions, and poenially dierences in how educaion coss are
caegorized and couned. Second, spending unding more producively may lead
o, and hereore allow or, lower levels o overall unding, while sill providing heresources ha each school needs.
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Ontario | www.americanprogress.o
Ontario
Onario has he larges number o sudens in public school o any Canadian
province. Wih more han 2 million public-school sudens, is school sysem is
larger han hose o 45 saes and he Disric o Columbia.129 For he 201213
school year, Onario spen more han $20 billion on educaion.130 Despie is large
suden populaion, Onario has consisenly perormed well on inernaional
ess, including he 2009 PISA.131
Beore Onarios educaion-unding-sysem reorm eors in 1998, school boardswere unded hrough a join provincial-local unding sysem. Boards had he
power o se and levy local propery axes.132 Tis allowed boards o raise addi-
ional revenue above and beyond he provincial allomen, and boards cerainly
exercised his opion.133 As a resul, as seen elsewhere, here was inequiable
variaion in he spending by school boards, variaions ha ranged rom $4,723 o
$9,148 per pupil.134 Boards wih richer propery-ax bases, paricularly commer-
cial propery-ax bases, were able o raise and spend more han ohers.135 Similar
o U.S. saes, he province provided addiional grans o poorer school boards in
order o ose he dierences in propery-ax wealh, bu hese grans were only
paid up o a se per-pupil ceiling.136 I was a ceiling ha propery-rich owns ar
exceeded hrough locally raised unding and hus he provinces equalizaion-gran
measure ailed o curb he educaion-unding inequiy.137As R.D. Gidney, auhor
oFrom Hope to Harris, a book deailing changes o Onarios school sysem,
reminds us, Te excessive reliance on local ax wealh ha[d] lead o unaccep-
able dierences in programs and services across he province.138 As a provincial
educaion-nance commission explained a he ime:
[W]e have stressed the importance of equality of educational opportunity in
Ontarios education system Having looked at the distribution of wealthamong school boards in terms of taxation revenues we have become acutely
aware of wide disparities Fairness is the key and that mean[s] the abil-
ity to provide a fair share of the available resources to each pupil, irrespective
of location of residence.139
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22 Center or American Progress | Canadas Approach to School Funding
o address hese inequiies, Onariowhich a he ime was led by he ory con-
servaive governmen o Mike Harrismoved he province o a provincial-level
unding sysem. Tese eors were ulimaely par o a package o larger educa-
ion-reorm eors sared in 1995. Tough Onarios school-unding sysem
similar o ha o is counerpars in Albera and Briish Columbiaemploys
equaliy and equiy principles, i works slighly dierenly han he sysemsin hose provinces. Akin o oher provinces, school boards in Onario los he
radiional power o raise signican amouns o educaion unding by seting and
levying local propery axes. Tis power was ranserred o he provincial govern-
men. Bu unlike in he oher provinces, Onarios boards acually los all power o
raise any unding rom local propery axes. Tey do no have he power o hold
a plebiscie such as in Albera or a reerendum such as in Briish Columbia.
Each school boards operaional-unding level is deermined by he Onario
miniser o educaion using he provincial-unding ormula.140 Similar o he oher
provinces, his unding comes rom a combinaion o propery axes and provin-cial general revenue.141 Te provincial governmen ses he propery-ax raes and
local municipaliies levy ha rae. Bu unlike in he oher provinces, he educaion
propery axes are no passed on o he provincial governmen; insead, revenue
colleced rom axes on local propery is spen by he local school disrics.142
Placing he power o se he local propery-ax raes in he hands o he provin-
cial nance miniser insead o in he hands o he local school board means ha
he provincial governmen deermines how much money each disric has o
spend rom propery ax dollars.143 Tis process allows Onario o implemen he
principles o equaliy and equiy by seting he ax raes o ensure ha he amoun
o revenue raised locally is a mos equal o, i no much less han, he boards
operaional-unding allocaion. Under his sysem, disrics receive varying per-
cenages o heir unding rom propery axes, wih propery-rich disrics geting
a high percenage o oal unding rom propery axes, bu he oal amoun o
money received by a school disric is he amoun se by he provincial-unding
ormula and hus i has greaer poenial o be air and equiable. As Onarios Fair
ax Commission explained, giving he provincial governmen he responsibiliy
or seting educaion propery-ax raes a he provincial level and hus he abiliy
o conrol he amoun o money raised locally, combined wih he removal o localaxing auhoriy ensure[s] ha [public] pressure is kep on he provincial govern-
men o mainain a realisic level o ormula unding or educaion, or all school
disrics in he province.144
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Onario regulaes how much is raised by each localiy, which enorces and ensures
educaion unding equaliy and equiy, bu he specic design o is sysem also
allows localiies o spend heir own ax revenues on heir schools. Te later prin-
ciple, spending local unding locally, is oen perceived as an essenial elemen o
local conrol over and invesmen in educaion. Local communiies can coninue
o eel invesed in heir schools because hey know heir ax dollars direcly undheir schools.
Seting he propery-ax raes a he provincial level also allows he province o
regulae he oal percenage o educaion unding ha comes rom propery
axes, since whaever is no raised rom propery axes is paid rom he provinces
general revenue undswih a ew addiional adjusmens or oher revenue
sources. Overall, Onario has made he decision o reduce he percen o unding
ha comes rom propery axes. When he reorm was inroduced in 1998, or
example, he province cu residenial propery axes by hal, amouning o $2.5
billion in savings, and replaced his unding wih general revenue unding.145
Tese provincially se ax raes can vary among, or even wihin, school disrics
and or dieren classes o propery, bu here is a uniorm ax rae or all resi-
denial propery and anoher uniorm rae or all arm propery.146 In 2012 he
residenial-propery ax rae was 0.221 percen o he assessed value o he prop-
ery, while each school disric had dieren raes or business properies.147 Te
local municipaliy levies hese ax raes and hen urns he unds raised over o he
applicable school board, wheher i is o a public school board or o a separae reli-
gious school board.148 As is he case in Albera, propery in Onario can be axed
separaely o und a separae school board, and in hese cases, unds are urned
over direcly o he separae board insead o being given o he general public
school board.149 A member o he Roman Caholic aih, however, is no required
o allocae his or her propery-ax dollars o he Roman Caholic school board;
insead, hese propery owners and enans can choose o direc heir propery-ax
dollars o any board in heir geographical area.
Te provincial minisry o educaion deermines he specic amoun o general
revenue unds ha a disric receives by subracing rom each school boards
oal unding allocaion he amoun received rom local propery axes, uiionees rom cerain classes o sudens, and expenses saved due o srikes.150 Tus,
general revenue unds bring he oal or each board up o he amoun se ou by
he unding ormula.151 Tis revenue comes rom he consolidaed revenue unds,
which have several sources, including personal income ax, personal income-ax
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24 Center or American Progress | Canadas Approach to School Funding
surcharges, corporae income ax, excise and sin axes, resource-exracion axes,
axes on esaes and capial gains, licensing, general sales ax, and payroll axes.152
In 1998 Onario, as par o is larger educaion-reorm package, underook a
signican consolidaion eor153 ha resuled in he provinces 2,051,865 su-
dens being governed by only 72 school boards, down rom 129, o which only31 are English public boardshe ype o board mos akin o hose in he Unied
Saes.154 Since he reorm, Onario now looks more like Florida, which has 75
school disrics or is 2.6 million sudens and less like he sae o New York,
which has 727 school disrics, even excluding charer schools, or is 2.7 million
sudens.155 Te smaller number o boards may impac he logisical elemens
o implemening and running a provincial-level unding sysem, making such a
sysem easier or some saes han ohers.
Much akin o he unding ormulas o Albera and Briish Columbia, Onarios
unding ormula allocaes resources in hree broad caegories:156
1. Basic unding or general coss such as sa salaries, exbooks, classroom com-
puers and oher supplies
2. Funding or he unique needs o sudens and disrics such as English language
learners, special educaion services, and remoe or rural schools
3. Capial unding
Noably, Onario breaks is basic unding gran down urher ino a gran or suden
cosshe Pupil Foundaion Gran, which covers classroom eachers, exbooks,
supplies, and library services, among oher hings; and a gran or school adminisra-
ive and leadership cosshe School Foundaion Gran, which covers he salaries
o principals, vice principals, school secrearies, and he cos o ofce supplies.157
Te disincion beween hese wo grans is signican. School boards can spend
School Foundaion Gran unds on coss ha would oherwise all under he Pupil
Foundaion Gran, bu hey canno do he reverse. Pupil Foundaion Gran unds
canno be spen on expendiures ha qualiy as school adminisraive and leadership
coss. In addiion, he Pupil Foundaion Gran is a per-suden allocaion based onhe boards average daily enrollmen and is no based on he oal enrollmen.158 Te
use o he average daily enrollmen can adversely impac disrics ha have less con-
sisen atendance o heir sudens, reducing heir unding even hough he disric
is sill responsible or educaing all o is enrolled sudens.
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TAXES
SCHOOL-DISTRICT LEVEL
Property
Schools
Fundraising
Provincial general revenue
PeopleIncome tax, corporate tax, sales tax, and licensing
Student fees
Provincial funding formuladetermines the amount of funding
each school board receives
School district
SCHOOL LEVEL
About 37 percent of total funding
Provincial government
Sets tax rates
PROVINCE LEVEL
School funding in Ontario
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26 Center or American Progress | Canadas Approach to School Funding
For he 201213 school year, he Pupil Foundaion Gran makes up abou 45 per-
cen o Onarios oal gran allocaions wih special grans or unique needs mak-
ing up anoher 44 percen and he reshe remaining 11 percenspread across
he School Foundaion Gran and a Deb Service Gran.159 Te specic deails o
hese grans and he ormulas used o calculae hem are beyond he scope o his
repor, bu hey are, o say he leas, complex.
Despie his complexiy in unding-level deerminaion, Onarios provincial-level
unding sysem, as in oher Canadian provinces, coninues o give school boards
he power and exibiliy o decide how o spend heir resources. According o
he ofce o Onarios minser o educaion: Boards use [he] money [provided
by he province] o make he local decisions needed o educae heir sudens.160
Tese decisions, o course, mus be consisen wih OnariosEducation Actand
oher relevan regulaions and memoranda.161 Tere are some blocks o unding
ha are allocaed or specic purposes and mus be spen on hose purposes, bu
his impacs only a small percenage o unding. For example, disrics mus meecerain class-size arges, and are no permited o spend more money on board
adminisraion or governance han allocaed under ha specic gran, while he
special-educaion gran mus be spen on special-educaion services.162
School boards in Onario, unlike boards in Albera and Briish Columbia, do no
have he power o raise money rom local propery axes, having been sripped o
his power enirely. Bu Onarios boards and schools are permited o charge ees
and engage in undraising in limied circumsances and or cerain purposes. Te
Onario Minisry o Educaion recenly released guidance or boards on hese
purposes.163 Under hese guidelines boards are permited o charge all sudens
ees or enhancemens or supplemenary-learning maerials beyond he core
curriculum.164 Te guidelines make clear ha here should be no ees charged or
day-school programs.165 Moreover, he ees levied by boards mus be consisen
wih he boards mission and values, and hey mus be volunary.166 Sudens mus
be able o paricipae in school aciviies and evens regardless o heir abiliy o
pay or hem.167 Te guidelines also recognize ha addiional parenal suppor o
sudens can come in orms oher han jus money, bu also in ime voluneering
in classrooms, which raises a dieren kind o inequiy issue.168 Ineresingly, he
guidelines consider Advanced Placemen, or AP, courses as opional program-ming or which a ee can be charged.169
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Te undraising guidance species ha []unds can be raised or a paricular
school or on a board level.170 Funds, however, canno be used o replace public
unding or educaion or o suppor iems unded hrough provincial grans,
such as classroom learning maerials, exbooks and oher specic purposes.171
ogeher, ees or enhancemensprograms and services beyond sandard
public educaionand undraising eors can produce a signican amoun ounding or disrics and schools. As is he case in oher provinces, his abil-
iy o raise ees creaes he possibiliy ha some schoolsmos likely richer
schoolswill raise more revenue han oher less well-o schools, hereby
undermining equiy. Bu he degree o inequiy depends on how much money is
raised and wheher i amouns o a signican percenage o he schools provin-
cially approved operaing budge.
Onarios sysem has ulimaely achieved scal neuraliy, as under is educaion-
unding sysem here is no relaionship beween educaional-spending per pupil
and local-propery wealh per pupil, according o a repor in heAlberta Journal ofEducation.172 Tis should be he goal o all educaion-unding sysems and some-
hing o which U.S. saes should aspire in designing heir sysems. Sill, he poin
remains ha unding equiy requires he equiable disribuion o resources down
o he school level and no jus o school boards. Tis is an area where Onario sill
needs o improve beore i can consider isel as having a ruly equiable educa-
ion-unding sysem.
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Lessons: What can the United States learn rom Canada? | www.americanprogress.o
Lessons: What can the United
States learn from Canada?
Tere are seven key lessons ha he provincial-level educaion-unding experi-
ences o Albera, Briish Columbia, and Onario have or U.S. saes looking o
reorm heir school-unding sysems.
Firs, he mos signican akeaway rom he Canadian experience is ha a provin-
cial- or sae-level unding sysem can work successully o creae equiy and no
jus in small saes such as Hawaii. Onario has a very large suden populaion
more han 2 millionand has successully implemened such a sysem.
Second, hese hree provinces were able o successully ransiion rom unding
sysems ha looked more like hose o U.S. saeswhere local boards se ax
raes and raised some porion o unds locallyo a sysem unded a he provin-
cial level wih greaer equaliy, i no oal equiy. Tis conversion debunks he idea
ha sysemaic change in school unding is no possible and ha we are simply
suck wih he saus quo.
Tird, on a more echnical level, hese hree provincial examples show ha here
are several dieren models or implemening a provincial- or sae-level unding
scheme. In each case, he provincial governmen ses he propery-ax raes and
makes up he remaining unding gap wih general revenue unds, bu wihin his
general ramework, provinces decide which specic approaches work bes or
hem based on heir prioriies and goals. U.S. saes could do he same. I saes, or
example, adoped a sae-level unding sysem and se he ax raes or educaion,
hey could decide wheher propery axes coninue o comprise a large porion o
educaion unding or insead would make up only small porion o ha unding.
Saes could decide wha happens o he propery axes ha are raised: Do hey
roll up ino a separae und as is he case in Albera, and i so, is here an opion oop ou? Or are he unds raised and spen locally as is he case in Onario? Is here
even a separae propery ax or educaion purposes, or, ollowing he example o
Briish Columbia, are propery axes unneled ino he general revenue und and
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30 Center or American Progress | Canadas Approach to School Funding
used o suppor a range o provincial services? Are ax raes consisen across he
sae or do hey vary based on geographical locaion and/or propery ype?
Tese examples show ha here is also a lo o exibiliy when i comes o deer-
mining how much power local boards and schools migh reain in erms o heir
abiliy o raise local axes, undraise, or charge school ees. Te ourh lessonCanada can each us is ha saes could decide wheher local boards have he
power o raise money; he amouns ha could be raised; he mechanisms by
which hese unds migh be raised such as propery axes, reerendums, ees, and
uiion; and he purposes or which hese unds could be used. Saes could have
he opion o implemening an overall amoun ha could be raised or o seting a
percenage caphe approach used in Alberaor saes could simply limi he
addiional unding raised or specied purposes. I he later, saes would have
he abiliy o dene wha hose purposes are and o make decisions abou how
careully and prescripively such purposes are dened and laid ou in governing
regulaions, or alernaively in nonbinding guidance.
Tese are very imporan decisions or a sae o make, as i is cerainly possible o
imagine equaliy and equiy being subsanially undermined i wealhier schools
engage in signican undraising eors ha poorer schools are simply unable o
mach. Tis is a prevalen phenomenon in U.S. schools oday. Even under ormer
Presiden Richard Nixons Commission on School Finance and he Cener or
American Progresss Cynhia Browns proposals, schools would be permited o
raise up o 10 percen o heir sae-deermined budges rom local sources. Tus,
here is cerainly leeway in wha i means o undermine equiy. I canno be over-
looked ha boards in he hree provinces, even when given he laiude o raise
addiional dollars, have no always exploied his power. School boards in Briish
Columbia, a leas or he 201213 school year, chose no o include in heir bud-
ge resources rom local undraising, despie being permited o raise such money.
I is unclear wheher school boards in he Unied Saes would make he same
decision and dieren boards migh make dieren choices, based on, or example,
prioriies or nancial abiliy.
Fih, a consisen heme o each provincial-unding sysem is ha while unding
may be provided a he provincial level, here is a srong commimen o localconrol over educaion. School boards decide how o spend and allocae he large
share o unding based on he boards local needs and prioriies. Tis is rue even
hough he ormula may allocae unding wih a specic purpose in mind based on
a complex lis o acors. Tere are some resriced unding sreams, much akin o
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Lessons: What can the United States learn rom Canada? | www.americanprogress.o
caegorical educaion grans in he Unied Saes, bu hese are he excepion and
no he rule. Considering he naure o he U.S. educaion-unding sysem, school
boards in hese Canadian provinces may in he end acually have more local ex-
ibiliy and conrol over how o spend heir unding han some or many school
boards in he Unied Saes.
Sixh, in addiion o equaliy and equiy in school unding, a provincial-level
unding sysem oers he chance or a sae o do wha Albera has ried o do and
provide disrics wih a sable and predicable level o educaion unding by esab-
lishing a muliyear school-unding cycle. Funding schools enirely a he provin-
cial level creaes a signicanly broader ax base, boh in erms o propery-derived
and general revenue resources, which allows he province o make longer-erm
commimens. Sabiliy and predicabiliy in unding can be essenial or disrics
and schools in erms o making hiring and resource-allocaion decisions. Tis,
o course, similar o unding ormulas generally, depends on provincial ollow-
hrough. Sabiliy is only acually creaed i Albera sicks o he unding cycle ilays ou; i is possible or such commimens o be more rheorical han real.
Te sevenh and nal akeaway is ha hese hree provincial approaches clearly
demonsrae ha here is an imporan disincion beween equaliy and equiy.
Te unding ormulas employed by Albera, Briish Columbia, and Onario seem
o do a good job o achieving equaliy in unding, allocaing large chunks on a per-
pupil basis, bu i is less clear wheher hese unding ormulas are ully equiable.
In Briish Columbia, or example, he basic allocaion gran, which is in essence
a per-pupil gran, comprises 80 percen o he oal provincial-operaing und-
ing gran while he unding allocaions based on he unique suden needshe
equiable undingis only 12 percen. Proessor Joe Garcea and Dusin Munroe
o he Universiy o Saskachewan commened:
How much it has enhanced equity, however, is open to question. Given that the
funding formulas are based largely on a per-student basis, it may be more accu-
rate, appropriate, and prudent to say that there has been an increase in the level
of equality rather than the level of equity per se. 173
I would be remiss no o poin ou ha provincial-level or sae-level unding sys-ems cerainly have limiaions and poenial drawbacks. Te success o a provin-
cial- or sae-level sysem, or example, depends on having a solid unding ormula
and sufcien unding levels so ha all schools acually receive he resources hey
need o educae heir children. Equaliy and even equiy in unding speaks o he
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32 Center or American Progress | Canadas Approach to School Funding
mehod o unding, no o he amoun. Choosing o und a he provincial level
means ha he amoun o unding is a he whim o voers in he province as a
whole, raher han o a smaller geographical subse o voers as is he case in a
municipaliy or school disric. Tis broader pool o voers may no have he same
commimen o educaion as some smaller groups do i allowed o make heir own
scal-eor deerminaions. Harvard Universiy proessors Jal Meha and RoberSchwarz believe ha Canadasand specically Onariosacademic success is
due in par o a srong culural commimen o educaion or all children:
[]here is a broadly shared norm ha sociey is collecively responsible or he
educaional welare o all o is children.174
A caveat
Canada, similar o he Unied Saes, is a large, geographically dispersed, and
culurally heerogonous naion.175 Bu is level o child povery is almos hal heUnied Saes12 percen compared o 22 percen176and povery in he Unied
Saes is oen concenraed in cerain school disrics and schools, which oen
magnies he eecs ha povery can have on suden achievemen.177 Te level o
income inequaliy in Canada is also less han i is in he Unied Saes, paricularly
in he case o disposable income, hough inequaliy in boh counries exceeds
he average among Organisaion or Economic Co-operaion and Developmen
counries.178 Tese dierences may mean i will be more challenging or he
Unied Saes o adop and execue a school-unding sysem similar o Canadas
provincial-level unding sysem.
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Conclusion | www.americanprogress.o
Conclusion
Te Unied Saes can learn a lo rom he educaion sysems in oher counries,
and in he case o school nance, U.S. sae governmens have a lo o learn.
Albera, Briish Columbia, and Onario, he hree Canadian provinces explored
in his repor, provide models highlighing how one ype o educaion-unding
sysema provincial-level sysem, or in he Unied Saes, a sae-level sysem
migh work. Tis model is jus one way and cerainly no he only way o imple-
men a more equiable mehod o unding schools.
Ulimaely, wha maters mos is ha all schools receive he resources hey need
o successully educae heir sudens. Te curren sysem in mos U.S. saes
a join local-sae unding schemehas oen ailed o achieve his goal, even
aer years o improvemen eors and numerous reorms. When he saus quo
isn working, despie repeaed atemps o x he siuaion, i may be ime o ry
somehing new.
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About the author and ack nowledgements | www.americanprogress.o
About the author
Juliana Herman is a Policy Analys wih he Educaion Policy eam a he Cener
or American Progress, where her work ocuses on school nance and governance.
Juliana received her law degree rom Yale Law School and her bachelors degree in
poliical science and American hisory rom he Universiy o Pennsylvania.
Acknowledgements
Tis paper is par o a larger muliyear projec on governance conduced
in parnership wih he Tomas B. Fordham Insiue, which evaluaes he
governance arrangemens o our naions K-12 educaion sysem and how hey
may be improved. We hank he Fordham Insiue or heir houghul review and
commens. We also graeully acknowledge he Eli and Edyhe Broad Foundaion
or heir sponsorship o his publicaion and heir ongoing suppor o oureducaion programs.
Te auhor would like o hank Proessor Scot Davies o McMaser Universiy;
Dave Duerksen o he Funding & Compliance Branch a he Briish Columbia
Minisry o Educaion; Michael Fullan, proessor emerius a he Universiy o
orono; Proessor Daniel Lang o he Universiy o orono; Ian Henderson
o he Educaion Finance Branch a Onario Minisry o Educaion; George
Lee and Brad Smih o he School Finance Branch a he Albera Minisry o
Educaion; Proessor Ben Levin o he Universiy o orono; Gordon R Tomas
o he Albera eachers Associaion; and Proessor Charles Ungerleider o he
Universiy o Briish Columbia or all heir experise and help reviewing dras.
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Appendix | www.americanprogress.o
Appendix
Education in three provinces
Province Year of reform Student population Number of school boards
Alberta 1994 593,677179 64180
British Columbia 1993 564,530181 60182
Ontario 1998 2,051,865183
72184
Provincial-level funding systems
ProvinceWho sets fund-
ing level?
Who sets property-
tax rates?
What makes up the funding
allotment?
Local fundin
authority?
Alberta ProvinceProvincial lieutenant
governor in council185
Property taxes and general provincial rev-
enues (income tax, royalties, gaming, ederal
transers, investment income, and other
revenue sources)186
Yes; districts and
schools
British Columbia Province
Lieutenant governor
in council
General revenue unds, o which
some are property taxes
Yes; districts and
schools
Ontario ProvinceProvincial nance
minister
Property taxes and provincial general revenue
(including personal income tax, personal
income-tax surcharges, corporate income
tax, excise and sin taxes, resource-extraction
taxes, taxes on estates and capital gains,
licensing, general sales tax, and payroll
taxes)187
Yes; schools
No; districts
Education property taxes
ProvinceWho sets property-
tax rates?
Can the
rates vary?
What way do the
rates vary?
Where do local prop-
erty-tax dollars go?
Percent o
cation fun
AlbertaProvincial lieutenant
governor in councilYes
Uniorm across the
province within a tax
category, but may vary
by category188
Roll up to the Alberta
School Foundation Fund32 percent1
British ColumbiaLieutenant governor in
councilYes
Vary among and within
school districts and
among types o property;
but there is a province-
wide rate or nonresiden-
tial property190
Municipalities collect these
taxes and then turn them
over to the provinces
minister o nance. They
are then deposited into
general revenue unds
32 percent1
OntarioProvincial nance
ministerYes
Vary among and within
school districts andor dierent classes o
property, but there is a
uniorm tax rate or all
residential property and
derived rom that rate,
or all arm property192
Spent by the local district 37 percent1
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38 Center or American Progress | Canadas Approach to School Funding
Alberta funding formula
Categories of operational funding Description Amount in 2012-20
Base instruction undingPer pupil based on the students grade level and or 10th- to 12th-
grade students on the type and number o course credits$3,853,471,000
Additional unding or dierential cost actors
Based on the additional needs o the districts students or the
district as a whole, or example, socioeconomic status o the
student population or the increased costs o operating necessarysmall schools
$1,658,729,000
Targeted unding or provincial initiatives Specic programs such as student health or school improvement $78,802,000
Provincial total operating budget $5,591,002,000British Columbia funding formula
Categories of operational funding Description Amount in 2011201
Basic allocation grant About 80 percent o provincial-operational unding196 $3,642,882,790
Grants based on unique student needs
About 12 percent o unding; additional resources or the extra needs o
English language learners, or special education services, and or vulnerable
students, considering poverty, those rom single-parent homes, crime, and
adults without a high school diploma
197
$539,079,610
Grants based on unique district needsAbout 8 percent o unding; small size, the rural nature o the district, districts
with higher average teacher salaries.198$342,806,523
Other grantsHoldback allocation, enrollment-decline protection, ormula transition, and
unding protection$107,840,997
Provincial total $4,632,609,920
Ontario funding formula
Categories of operational funding Description Amount in 201220
Basic undingAbout 45 percent o unding; or general costs, such as sta salaries, textbooks, class-
room computers, and other supplies200$9,777,100,000
Funding or the unique needs o students
and districts
About 44 percent o unding; such as English language learners, special education
services, and remote or rural schools201$9,254,400,000
School oundation grant About 7 percent or school administrative and leadership costs202 $1,404,900,000
Provincial total $20,436,400,000
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Appendix | www.americanprogress.o
Local funding authority
Province
Can districts
raise money
locally?
Restrictions?Can schools raise
money locally?
Fees: Restrictions or
guidelines?
Fundraisin
Restrictions
guideline
Alberta YesUp to 3 percent o the
boards budget or the yearYes
Fees: or alternative pro-
grams, copies o student
records, early childhood
services, transportation
ees, continuing education,instructional supplies, and
materials203
Fundraise: to su
extra services a
activities, but n
core items204
British
Columbia
Yes; local reer-
endum
For select educational
purposes: to provide or
new programs, to enhance
existing programs[,] or
additional activities or
students or or local capital
project initiatives.205 But
not to und operating
costs
Only good or one yearand must be reapproved
each year to continue206
Yes
Fees: The School Act lists
several purposes or which
boards may charge student
ees, including or specialty
academy, dened as in
addition to the standard
education program and
refect[ing] an emphasis
on a particular sport, activ-
ity or subject area207
Fees cannot be chargedor educational resource
materials necessary to par-
ticipate in the educational
program208
Ontario No N/A Yes
No ees charged or day-
school programs;
ees or enhancements or
supplementary learning
materials beyond the core
curriculum; must be con-
sistent with the boards
mission and values and
voluntary209
Funds not repla
public unding
education or to
support items u
through provinc
grants, such as
classroom learn
materials, textb
210 and othe
specic purpose
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Endnotes | www.americanprogress.o
Endnotes
1 Alberta Ministry o Education, Role o School Boards,available at http://education.alberta.ca/admin/role.aspx (last accessed April 2013).
2 British Columbia Ministry o Education, School TrusteeElection Procedures in British Columbia (2011),
available at http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/legislation/trustee_election/.
3 Ontario Education Act (R.S.O. 1990), Part VII, availableat http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90e02_e.htm#BK206(last accessed May2013).
4 Heather Barondess, Carrie Hahnel, and JonathanStewart, Tipping the Scale Towards Equity: MakingWeighted Student Formula Work or Caliornias High-est-Need Students (Oakland, Caliornia: The Education
Trust-West, 2012).
5 Marguerite Roza, How Current Education GovernanceDistorts Financial Decisionmaking. In Paul Manna andPatrick McGuinn, eds., Education Governance for theTwenty-First Century: Overcoming the Structural Barriersto School Reform (Washington: Brookings Institution
Press, 2013).
6 Bruce D. Baker and Sean P. Corcoran, The Stealth Ineq-uities o School Funding: How State and Local SchoolFinance Systems Perpetuate Inequitable StudentSpending (Washington: Center or American Progress,2012).
7 Cynthia Brown, Toward a Coherent and Fair FundingSystem. In Paul Manna and Patrick McGuinn, eds., Edu-cation Governance for the Twenty-First Century: Overcom-ing the Structural Barriers to School Reform (Washington:Brookings Institution Press, 2013).
8 Baker and Corcoran, Stealth Inequities o School Fund-ing.
9 Ibid.; Bruce Baker, David Sciarra, and Danielle Farrie, IsSchool Funding Fair? A national Record Card Second
Edition: June 2012 (Newark, New Jersey: EducationLaw Center, 2012).
10 Presidents Commission on School Finance, Schools,People, and Money: The Need for Educational Reform (U.S.Government Printing Oce, 1972); Brown, Toward aCoherent and Fair Funding System.
11 Paul Manna and Patrick McGuinn, eds., EducationGovernance for the Twenty-First Century: Overcoming theStructural Barriers to School Reform (Washington: Brook-ings Institution Press, 2013).
12 Statistics Canada, Table 0510005 Estimates o Popula-tion, Canada, provinces and territories, available athttp://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26?lang=eng&retrLang=eng&id=0510005&paSer=&pattern=&stByVal=1&p1=1&p2=31&tabMode=dataTable&csid= (lastaccessed April 2013).
13 Tamara Knighton, Pierre Brochu, and Tomasz Gluszyn-ski, Measuring Up: Canadian results o the OECD P ISAStudy The Perormance o Canadas Youth in Reading,Mathematics and Science 2009 First Results or Canadi-ans Aged 15 (Ottawa: Ministry o Industry, 2010).
14 U.S. Department o Education, National Center orEducation Statistics, Highlights From TIMSS 2011: Math-ematics and Science Achievement of U.S. Fourth- andEighth-Grade Students in an International Context(U.S.
Department o Education, 2012), available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013009.pd.
15 National Center or Education Statistics, Common CoreData Set, 20102011, available at http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/bat/index.asp (last accessed April 2013).
16 Alberta Ministry o Education, Education Funding inAlberta Kindergarten to Grade 12 2013/2014 SchoolYear (2013), available at http://education.alberta.ca/media/6858004/booklet2013.pd.
17 Government o Alberta, Albertas 15-year oldsplace among worlds best in reading, scienticand mathematical literacy, Press release, Decem-ber 7, 2010, available at http://www.alberta.ca/acn/201012/29637C1D1C216-B57B-C0EF-BEC18E-4054CA4138.html.
18 Dean Neu and Alison Taylor, Funding Mechanisms,Cost Drivers, and the Distribution o Education Funds inAlberta: A Case Study, The Alberta Journal of EducationResearch 46 3 (2000).
19 Ibid.
20 Dean Neu, Frank Peters, and Alison Taylor, FinancialReorms in Alberta: The Impact on School Districts,Journal of Education Finance 27 (4) (2002).
21 The premier is the head o the provincial governmentand the equivalent to a governor in the United States.
22 Neu and Taylor, Funding Mechanisms.
23 Neu and Taylor, Funding Mechanisms. These reormswere part o a broader package o reports that includ-ed: a 12.4 percent reduction in education unding overa our-year period; a 5 percent wage rollback or public-sector workers, including teachers; a more equitableblock o unding ramework, which determined howmuch unding each school board would receive; anda cap on administrative expenditures in the supportblock at 4 percent o unds available or instruction.
24 Neu and Taylor, Funding Mechanisms.
25 Government o Alberta, Funding Manual or SchoolAuthorities 2012/2013 S chool Year (2012), available athttp://www.education.alberta.ca/media/6661328/2012_2013undingmanual_updated_january_2013.pd.
26 Alberta Ministry o Municipal Afairs, Education Proper-ty TaxFacts and Inormation, available at http://www.municipalafairs.gov.ab.ca/1607.cm(last accessed April2013).
27 Alberta Ministry o Municipal Afairs, EducationProperty Tax Requisition available at http://www.mu-nicipalafairs.alberta.ca/1662.cm (last accessed April2013).
28 Alberta Ministry o Municipal Afairs, Education Prop-
erty TaxFacts and Inormation.
29 Province o Alberta School Act, (2000)Div. 4. Sec. 173, available at http://www.qp.alberta.ca/1266.cm?page=s03.cm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779733941 (last accessed May2013).
30 According to the Alberta lieutenant governors website,The Lieutenant Governor in Council appears in manygovernment documents, such as acts o legislation.
http://education.alberta.ca/admin/role.aspxhttp://education.alberta.ca/admin/role.aspxhttp://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/legislation/trustee_election/http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/legislation/trustee_election/http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90e02_e.htm#BK206http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90e02_e.htm#BK206http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26?lang=eng&retrLang=eng&id=0510005&paSer=&pattern=&stByVal=1&p1=1&p2=31&tabMode=dataTable&csidhttp://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26?lang=eng&retrLang=eng&id=0510005&paSer=&pattern=&stByVal=1&p1=1&p2=31&tabMode=dataTable&csidhttp://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26?lang=eng&retrLang=eng&id=0510005&paSer=&pattern=&stByVal=1&p1=1&p2=31&tabMode=dataTable&csidhttp://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013009.pdfhttp://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013009.pdfhttp://nces.ed.gov/ccd/bat/index.asphttp://nces.ed.gov/ccd/bat/index.asphttp://education.alberta.ca/media/6858004/booklet2013.pdfhttp://education.alberta.ca/media/6858004/booklet2013.pdfhttp://www.alberta.ca/acn/201012/29637C1D1C216-B57B-C0EF-BEC18E4054CA4138.htmlhttp://www.alberta.ca/acn/201012/29637C1D1C216-B57B-C0EF-BEC18E4054CA4138.htmlhttp://www.alberta.ca/acn/201012/29637C1D1C216-B57B-C0EF-BEC18E4054CA4138.htmlhttp://www.education.alberta.ca/media/6661328/2012_2013fundingmanual_updated_january_2013.pdfhttp://www.education.alberta.ca/media/6661328/2012_2013fundingmanual_updated_january_2013.pdfhttp://www.municipalaffairs.gov.ab.ca/1607.cfmhttp://www.municipalaffairs.gov.ab.ca/1607.cfmhttp://www.qp.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=s03.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779733941http://www.qp.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=s03.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779733941http://www.qp.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=s03.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779733941http://www.qp.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=s03.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779733941http://www.qp.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=s03.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779733941http://www.qp.alberta.ca/1266.cfm?page=s03.cfm&leg_type=Acts&isbncln=9780779733941http://www.municipalaffairs.gov.ab.ca/1607.cfmhttp://www.municipalaffairs.gov.ab.ca/1607.cfmhttp://www.education.alberta.ca/media/6661328/2012_2013fundingmanual_updated_january_2013.pdfhttp://www.education.alberta.ca/media/6661328/2012_2013fundingmanual_updated_january_2013.pdfhttp://www.alberta.ca/acn/201012/29637C1D1C216-B57B-C0EF-BEC18E4054CA4138.htmlhttp://www.alberta.ca/acn/201012/29637C1D1C216-B57B-C0EF-BEC18E4054CA4138.htmlhttp://www.alberta.ca/acn/201012/29637C1D1C216-B57B-C0EF-BEC18E4054CA4138.htmlhttp://education.alberta.ca/media/6858004/booklet2013.pdfhttp://education.alberta.ca/media/6858004/booklet2013.pdfhttp://nces.ed.gov/ccd/bat/index.asphttp://nces.ed.gov/ccd/bat/index.asphttp://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013009.pdfhttp://nces.ed.gov/pubs2013/2013009.pdfhttp://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26?lang=eng&retrLang=eng&id=0510005&paSer=&pattern=&stByVal=1&p1=1&p2=31&tabMode=dataTable&csidhttp://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26?lang=eng&retrLang=eng&id=0510005&paSer=&pattern=&stByVal=1&p1=1&p2=31&tabMode=dataTable&csidhttp://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26?lang=eng&retrLang=eng&id=0510005&paSer=&pattern=&stByVal=1&p1=1&p2=31&tabMode=dataTable&csidhttp://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90e02_e.htm#BK206http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90e02_e.htm#BK206http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/legislation/trustee_election/http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/legislation/trustee_election/http://education.alberta.ca/admin/role.aspxhttp://education.alberta.ca/admin/role.aspx -
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42 Center or American Progress | Canadas Approach to School Funding
Legally, it reers to the Lieutenant Governor actingon, and with, the advice o the Executive Council orCabinet. When the Cabinet makes a decision and ithas been approved by the Lieutenant Governor, it issaid to have been made by the Lieutenant Governor inCouncil. Province o Alberta, Oce o the LieutenantGovernor, Requests and contacts, available at http://www.lieutenantgovernor.ab.ca/117.htm(last accessedApril 2013).
31 Province o Alberta School Act, Div. 4 Sec. 174(1).
32 Province o Alberta School Act, Div. 4 Sec.174(2).
33 Alberta Ministry o Municipal Afairs, Education Prop-erty Tax RequisitionFacts and Inormation. A mill rateis a property-tax rate measured in tenths o a penny.
34 Alberta Ministry o Education, Education Property Tax,available at http://www.education.alberta.ca/admin/unding/tax.aspx (last accessed April 2013).
35 Province o Alberta School Act, Div. 3 Sec. 168(2).
36 Province o Alberta School Act, Div. 4 Sec. 176(4).
37 Province o Alberta School Act, Div. 4 Sec. 176(3).
38 Alberta Ministry o Education, Education Property Tax.
39 Alberta Ministry o Municipal Afairs, Education Prop-
erty TaxFacts and Inormation.
40 Alberta Ministry o Municipal Afairs, Education Prop-erty Tax Requisition
41 Alberta Ministry o Education, Education Property Tax.
42 Province o Alberta School Act, Div. 2 Sec. 59.
43 Jal D. Mehta and Robert B. Schwartz, Canada: Looksa Lot like Us but Gets Much Better Results.In Marc S.
Tucker and Linda Darling-Hammond, eds., SurpassingShanghai(Cambridge: Harvard Education Press, 2011);R.D. Gidney, From Hope to Harris, The Reshaping oOntarios S chools (Toronto: University o Toronto,2002).
44 Province o Alberta School Act, Div. 2 Sec. 212; AlbertaMinistry o Education, Fair and Equitable Funding,
available at http://www.education.alberta.ca/parents/educationsys/ourstudents/iii.aspx (last accessed April2013).
45 Alberta Ministry o Education, Opportunities orChoice in Education, available at http://education.alberta.ca/parents/educationsys/ourstudents/iv.aspx(last accessed April 2013).
46 Alberta Ministry o Education, Role o School Boards,available at http://education.alberta.ca/admin/role.aspx (last accessed April 2013).
47 Alberta Ministry o Education, Education Funding inAlberta Kindergarten to Grade 12 2011/2012 SchoolYear (2011), available at http://education.alberta.ca/media/954300/nalbooklet.pd.
48 Alberta Ministry o Education, Funding Manual or
Sc