The Grants
Foundation Grant
Foundation Grant
| Number of School Boards Receiving Grant |
Total Amount of Grant in 2003–04 |
| All |
$8.11 billion |
The Foundation Grant supports the components of a classroom education
that are required by and generally common to all students. The Foundation
Grant provides the same amount per student to all school boards.
The Foundation Grant is based on average daily enrolment (ADE), which
is counted in October and March of each year. ADE includes adjustments
for full-time equivalents. For example, a Kindergarten student in a half-day
program is counted as one-half a student. All grants based on enrolment
use the ADE measure.
For the 2003–04 school year, $8.11 billion is being allocated for
the Foundation Grant, including over $390 million in the Local Priorities
Amount. The Foundation Grant provides $3,885 for each elementary student
and $4,681 for each secondary student.
The Foundation Grant covers the costs of a classroom education listed
below:
- teachers
- supply teachers
- teaching assistants
- classroom supplies
- textbooks and learning materials
- classroom computers
- library services
- guidance services
- classroom consultants (for example, teachers who are reading specialists
or who help other teachers develop and implement curriculum)
- professionals and paraprofessionals (such as social workers or computer
technicians)
- school administration (including principals, vice-principals, department
heads, and school secretaries)
The Foundation Grant also includes a Local Priorities Amount, which boards
may use flexibly to meet local needs.
Student-focused funding increases classroom spending. In 2003–04,
classroom spending will be more than $1.4 billion higher than classroom
spending was in 1997.
In December 2002, in response to an Education Equality Task Force
recommendation, funding for salary benchmarks was increased by $340
million, or 3 percent. For 2003–04, funding for salary benchmarks
is again increasing by another 3 percent, or $340 million.
Beginning in 2003–04, there is an increase to the benchmarks
for textbooks and learning materials, computers, and classroom supplies
in the student-focused funding formula by more than 10 percent,
or $66 million. This increase will be implemented over 3 years.
This increase is also in response to the Task Force report.
Special Purpose Grants
In addition to the Foundation Grant, all school boards are eligible
to receive special purpose grants.
There are ten special purpose grants that provide additional funding
to meet students’ different needs and the costs that vary from one
school board to another.
The ten special purpose grants are:
Special Education Grant
Special Education Grant
| Number of School Boards Receiving Grant |
Total Amount of Grant in 2003-04 |
| All |
$1.65 billion |
The Special Education Grant provides funding for students with special
needs. Each school board receives this grant.
Since the introduction of the student-focused approach to funding
in 1998, the Special Education Grant has increased by almost 40 percent.
In 1998–99, the government increased funding for students who
need intensive supports in the classroom by $127 million.
In 1999–2000, the government added a further $32.5 million to special
education funding.
In 2000–01, the government again increased special education funding,
this time by over $150 million.
In 2003–04, special education funding is projected to increase
by $250 million.
School boards have flexibility in how they use special education funding
to meet the special education needs of their students. The funding is
used to pay for special education teachers, teaching assistants, and other
professionals (such as psychologists or speech-language therapists).
Funding for special education may only be used for special education.
Any unspent funding must be placed in a special education reserve fund.
The Special Education Grant consists of two main components: the Special
Education Per Pupil Amount (SEPPA) and the Intensive Support Amount (ISA).
Special Education Per Pupil Amount (SEPPA)
About $70 million a year in SEPPA is allocated to help in the early
identification of learning problems and other exceptionalities of
JK to Grade 3 students and to provide them with additional supports.
Each school board receives an amount of funding based on the total number
of students the board serves, not just on the students who have been identified
as needing a special education program. This funding is provided through
the Special Education Per Pupil Amount (SEPPA).
For 2003–04, SEPPA funding will be provided at $562 per Kindergarten
to Grade 3 student, $424 per Grade 4 to 8 student, and $274 per secondary
school student.
Intensive Support Amount (ISA)
School boards also receive Intensive Support Amount (ISA) funding, based
on each board’s proportion of students who need very costly special
education services, including equipment, teachers, teaching assistants,
and other supports.
ISA funding is determined through an annual process in which school
boards submit claims to the Ministry of Education to establish the funding
requirements for intensive supports for their students. ISA funding is
based on the ministry’s review of boards’ ISA claims.
In December 2002, in response to a Education Equality Task Force
recommendation, the government provided an additional $130 million
in funding for ISA and made a commitment to fund all eligible ISA
claims once the review was complete. In March 2003, the government
provided an additional $71.5 million to meet this commitment.
In the 2001–02 school year, the ministry began a comprehensive
review of ISA funding, which allowed school boards to submit claims over
an extended period of four cycles between November 2001 and December 2002.
Ministry validators worked with school board staff to bring forward all
student files that met the improved ISA eligibility criteria during the
comprehensive review. The improved ISA eligibility criteria can be found
in the ISA Guidelines
2001–02: Addendum.
In December 2002, in response to a Education Equality Task Force recommendation,
the government announced additional funding of $130 million for ISA. In
March 2003, with the completion of the ISA Comprehensive Review, the government
provided a further $71.5 million in funding for all eligible files, for
a total of $201.5 million in the 2002–03 school year.
As recommended by the Task Force, ISA funding will continue to be adjusted
to match the number of eligible files in school boards. The ministry is
projecting that ISA funding will increase to approximately $815 million
in 2003–04 – $250 million higher than the initial allocation
of $565 million at the beginning of 2002–03. The actual change in
ISA funding will depend on results of ISA claims and review in 2003–04.
For all students who need special education supports, school boards
combine the funding from the Foundation Grant, other special purpose grants,
SEPPA, and ISA to provide individual programs that meet the specific needs
of each student. The programs and supports for each student with special
needs are determined by that student’s Individual Education Plan
(IEP).
Special Incidence Portion (SIP)
The Special Education Grant also includes a Special Incidence Portion
(SIP) for students with exceptionally high needs. SIP claims require approval
from district office staff of the Ministry of Education.
Programs in Correctional, Care, and Treatment Facilities
Student-focused funding supports education programs provided by school
boards for children and youth in various local facilities and institutions,
including hospitals, children’s mental health centres, psychiatric
institutions, detention and correctional facilities, community group homes,
and other social services agencies.
Language Grant
Language Grant
| Number of School Boards Receiving Grant |
Total Amount of Grant in 2003–04 |
| All |
$457.5 million |
The Language Grant provides funding to meet school boards’ costs
for language instruction. Every school board receives a Language Grant,
but school boards receive different levels of funding based on their particular
needs for language instruction.
For English-language school boards, the Language Grant provides funding
for core French, extended French, and French immersion programs.
Student-focused funding is designed to recognize and respond to
the unique circumstances facing different school boards. ESL/ESD funding
is an example. In 2003–04, more than 80 percent of this funding
is projected to go to large urban school boards, reflecting the cultural
and linguistic diversity of their student populations.
The Language Grant also provides funding for English as a second language
(ESL)and English skills development (ESD) programs. These programs are
for students who were born in countries where English is not a first or
standard language, and for Canadian-born students whose language spoken
at home is not English.
The Language Grant provides funding to French-language school boards
to recognize the higher costs of French-language learning materials and
other aspects of French-language education.
The Language Grant also provides French-language school boards with
funding for programs that are comparable to ESL and ESD programs. These
programs are known as Actualisation linguistique en français (ALF)
and Perfectionnement du français (PDF).
In addition, the Language Grant provides funding for Native-language
programs.
Geographic Circumstances Grant
Geographic Circumstances Grant
| Number of School Boards Receiving Grant |
Total Amount of Grant in 2003–04 |
| 58 |
$207 million |
The Geographic Circumstances Grant includes grants for small schools
and for remote and rural boards. Only school boards that meet the grant’s
geographic criteria receive this funding.
Small Schools
In 2003–04, in response to a recommendation of the Education
Equality Task Force, the government is increasing funding for small,
rural, and northern schools by $19 million. This funding supports
programs in small schools and helps meet the costs of providing goods
and services to students in widely dispersed schools.
To offset the higher per student cost of programs in small schools,
financial support is provided as a Small Schools Allocation.
Small elementary schools are defined as schools that have fewer than
an average of 20 students per grade and that are located 8 or more kilometres
from other elementary schools of the board. Small secondary schools are
defined as schools that have fewer than an average of 150 students per
grade, and that are located 32 kilometres from other secondary schools
of the board.
This allocation also has a funding component for additional principals
in boards with a high proportion of small schools. Eligible boards have
the flexibility to use this funding to provide more principals or to increase
the time that part-time principals can spend on their principal duties.
Remote and Rural Boards
In response to a recommendation of the Education Equality Task
Force, the government is investing $50 million in a rural education
strategy. The ministry will work with its partners in education, including
boards and parents in rural and northern parts of the province, to
develop a strategy to improve learning outcomes for students in these
areas.
The Remote and Rural Allocation provides additional funding to meet the
higher costs of goods and services for boards that are remote from major
urban centres and have students spread over a large area. Funding is calculated
by measuring three factors: board enrolment; distance from an urban centre;
and how far schools are located from one another and from the school board
central office.
Learning Opportunities Grant
Learning Opportunities Grant
| Number of School Boards Receiving Grant |
Total Amount of Grant in 2003–04 |
| All |
$358 million |
The Learning Opportunities Grant includes four components: a Demographic
component, an Early Literacy component, a Literacy and Math Outside the
School Day component, and a Students at Risk component.
Demographic Component
This component permits boards to offer a wide range of programs to improve
the educational achievement of students at risk of poor performance. Boards
have the flexibility to select programs that respond to local needs.
To establish funding levels, the demographic component uses social and
economic indicators that research shows are associated with students at
risk of academic difficulty. These indicators are:
A stakeholder working group met during the fall of 2001 to review
the allocation method of the Learning Opportunities Grant. Based on
the group’s recommendations, a $15 million enhancement to the
Demographic component was introduced beginning in the 2002–03
school year.
- low family income,
- low parental education,
- lone parent status,
- aboriginal status, and
- recent immigration status.
Early Literacy Component
This component provides funding to improve the literacy of students
in Junior Kindergarten (JK) to Grade 3. Funding is allocated on the basis
of each board’s share of average daily enrolment (ADE) from JK to
Grade 3.
Boards are required to focus these resources on primary students with
the greatest need – JK and Kindergarten students whose reading readiness
assessments show that they need remedial help, and students in Grades
1 to 3 whose achievement levels are 1 (“D” on a report card)
or lower (“R” on a report card).
Literacy and Math Outside the School Day Component
This component allows boards to provide additional supports to enhance
the literacy and math skills of Grades 7 to 12 students at risk of not
meeting the new curriculum standards and the requirements of the Grade
10 literacy test.
These courses or programs may be provided during the summer and during
the school year outside the regular school day. Funding is provided at
a rate of $5,275 per average daily enrolment (ADE). This rate supports
the average cost of a continuing education teacher for a class of ten
students.
Summer 2003 and 2004
Beginning in the summer of 2001, funding for literacy and math
programs was increased to allow boards to provide smaller classes
in summer school and in before- and after-school programs for students
who need extra help.
Funding for expanded literacy and math programs will also be available
in both summer 2003 and 2004 for at risk students in Grades 7 to 12 and
for parents of at risk students. Transportation for students in summer
programs in 2003 and 2004 will continue to be funded.
Funding for school operations and school renewal under the Pupil Accommodation
Grant is provided for students in Grades 7 to 12 literacy and math summer
school programs.
Students at Risk Component
Based on the report of the students at risk working group, the government
has allocated $50 million in 2003–04 for a new component of the
Learning Opportunities Grant to implement the government’s strategy
to improve outcomes for students at risk in Grades 7 to 12. This funding
is ongoing.
In 2002–03, the government provided $10 million in new funding
for the start-up costs of a new program for at risk students. In 2003–04,
the government is providing a further $50 million to implement the
recommendations of the Education Equality Task Force and the at risk
working group regarding additional investments for students at risk
of not succeeding in high school.
The objectives of this component are to enhance programs for students
at risk including:
- increasing the number of students passing the Grade 10 literacy test;
- improving the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy; and
- increasing opportunities for students to participate in a successful
school-to-work pathway.
Funding will provide board leadership, training, and resources supporting
classroom-based programs for students who are at risk of not graduating.
The emphasis in elementary school will be on students in Grades 7 and
8.
Funding for the start-up costs of this new program, totalling $10 million,
was provided in 2002–03.
Continuing Education and Other Programs Grant
Continuing Education and Other Programs Grant
| Number of School Boards Receiving Grant |
Total Amount of Grant in 2003–04 |
| 64 |
$156 million |
The Continuing Education and Other Programs Grant provides funding for
adult day school programs, continuing education programs, and correspondence/self-study
programs for adult students.
The grant also funds summer school and night school courses for high
school students who are upgrading, making up courses, or fast tracking.
The funding supports students who are taking courses that enable them
to transfer between applied and academic streams in secondary school.
In 2002–03, 57,000 students on a full-time equivalent basis
(average daily enrolment) studied in programs that were funded by
the Continuing Education and Other Programs Grant.
This grant provides funding for summer school programs for adults.
This grant also provides funding for international languages (heritage
languages) programs for elementary students. Funding for international
languages is based on the number of hours of classroom instruction and
class size.
Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR)
Beginning in 2003–04, this grant also provides funding for prior
learning assessment and recognition (PLAR), which is the framework through
which mature students (those 18 years of age or older and out of school
for at least one year) can be awarded credits toward completion of the
Ontario Secondary School Diploma.
Teacher Qualifications and Experience Grant
Teacher Qualifications and Experience Grant
| Number of School Boards Receiving Grant |
Total Amount of Grant in 2003–04 |
| 71 |
$628 million |
The Teacher Qualifications and Experience Grant provides funding to
help boards meet teachers’ salary costs above the funding provided
in the Foundation Grant.
Teachers in all school boards are paid according to their levels of
qualifications and their experience. School boards have different proportions
of teachers with high levels of qualifications and experience, so boards
have varying salary costs. This grant responds to the additional costs
of higher teacher salaries due to these factors.
The Teacher Qualifications and Experience Grant also includes funding
to meet the additional costs for teachers in boards where secondary students
take, on average, more than 7.2 credits per year. The Foundation Grant
provides funding for a typical student course load of 7.2 credits. Many
students take more than 7.2 credits, which means that school boards need
to hire more teachers.
With the implementation of secondary school reform, students are able
to complete secondary school in four years. The Teacher Qualifications
and Experience Grant ensures that school boards can put secondary school
reform into effect with funding that responds to students’ course
loads.
Early Learning Grant
Early Learning Grant
| Number of School Boards Receiving Grant |
Total Amount of Grant in 2003–04 |
| 16 |
$12 million |
The Early Learning Grant provides funding to support early learning.
In 2003–04, school boards project that 115,000 four year
olds will start Junior Kindergarten – a 26 percent increase
compared to 1997.
This grant provides funding to school boards that do not offer Junior
Kindergarten (JK) at all or do not offer JK everywhere in their jurisdictions.
The Early Learning Grant is intended to help these boards provide additional
services to improve learning outcomes for early learners in Senior Kindergarten
to Grade 3.
Boards that offer JK throughout their districts do not receive the Early
Learning Grant. All school boards providing JK programs for four year
olds receive funding for these programs through the Foundation Grant and
other grants.
The Early Learning Grant ensures that school boards have a choice of
offering either JK or equivalent early learning programs to their young
students.
Transportation Grant
Transportation Grant
| Number of School Boards Receiving Grant |
Total Amount of Grant in 2003–04 |
| All |
$652 million |
The Transportation Grant provides funding to school boards for the transportation
of students.
On December 13, 2002, the government announced the distribution
of $20 million as a first step in response to a recommendation of
the Education Equality Task Force regarding student transportation.
For 2003–04, the government is increasing the Transportation Grant
by over $20 million. This is the second step the government has taken
in response to the recommendations of the Education Equality Task Force
related to student transportation. Together with the $20 million in additional
funding for transportation provided in 2002–03, this increase represents
approximately one-half of the benchmark update recommended by the Task
Force for student transportation.
All school boards will receive at least a 3.32 percent increase in their
Transportation Grant in recognition of cost pressures faced by school
bus operators. School boards that experience enrolment increases in 2003–04
will receive proportional increases to their transportation funding allocation.
School boards with declining enrolment will not see their funding reduced;
rather, these boards will receive their allocation for 2002–03 plus
the 3.32 percent increase.
In 2003–04, an estimated 780,000 students will be transported
by school bus each school day. It is estimated that this service is
provided by 17,000 school purpose vehicles travelling 1.8 million
kilometres every school day.
The ministry continues to work with the Transportation Review Committee
on the development of a new Transportation Grant. These steps to increase
base funding for transportation in 2003–04 have been taken in recognition
of the importance of making increased funding available to boards to support
the new transportation model in 2004–05.
Since 1998–99, funding for student transportation has increased
by 15 percent to recognize the higher costs of providing transportation.
Declining Enrolment Adjustment
Declining Enrolment Adjustment
| Number of School Boards Receiving Grant |
Total Amount of Grant in 2003–04 |
| 58 |
$119 million |
For 2002–03, the government introduced a refinement to student-focused
funding to help boards with declining enrolment.
Because much of each board’s revenue from student-focused funding
grants is determined by enrolment, boards with declining enrolment lose
revenue. This is appropriate because boards no longer need to provide
the same number of teachers and other supports when they have fewer students.
In the fall of 2001, the ministry established a declining enrolment
working group. This working group was asked to analyse the extent
to which student-focused funding revenue is affected by declining
enrolment, and to compare the decline in revenue to the ability of
school boards to reduce costs as enrolment declines.
Some costs of school boards, however, do not decline in a way that matches
declining enrolment. Some costs can be adjusted easily. For example, the
cost of classroom teachers can be reduced by changing the arrangement
of classes to adjust to reduced enrolment. Other costs cannot be adjusted
as easily. For example, in many instances a reduction in the number of
students does not allow for fewer school secretaries, or reduced costs
for heating and lighting of schools.
Declining enrolment has become more important recently because of secondary
school reform and because the province’s overall rate of enrolment
growth is slowing. Many more boards are projected to show an enrolment
decline in the rest of the decade.
To address the gap between revenue loss and a board’s ability
to reduce costs, a stakeholder working group recommended a declining enrolment
adjustment that gives a board two years to reduce costs in keeping with
its reduced enrolment.
In response to the report of the Education Equality Task Force, the
government is extending the Declining Enrolment Adjustment from two years
to three years. The government will provide an additional $5 million in
2004–05 to ensure that boards have time to adjust their costs as
their student population decreases. In future years, boards that continue
to experience declining enrolment will continue to receive this funding.
In 2003–04, the Declining Enrolment Adjustment is increasing
significantly, from $36 million in 2002–03 to $119 million,
an increase of 230 percent.
For 2003–04, the government is providing the second year of Declining
Enrolment Adjustment funding. Boards that received Declining Enrolment
Adjustment funding in 2002–03 will receive half of that amount as
well as their adjustment for the 2003–04 school year. As a result,
funding for the Declining Enrolment Adjustment is increasing significantly,
from $36 million to $119 million, an increase of 230 percent.
School Board Administration and Governance
Grant
Administration and Governance Grant
| Number of School Boards Receiving Grant |
Total Amount of Grant in 2003–04 |
| All |
$464 million |
The School Board Administration and Governance Grant provides funding
for the governing of school boards, including trustees’ honoraria,
the funding of school councils, and the administrative costs of operating
school board offices and central facilities.
All school boards receive a base level of funding and additional funding
determined by the number of trustees and enrolment.
Since 1995, the number of boards has been reduced from 129 to 72.
School boards that receive increased funding under the Remote and Rural
Allocation, the Demographic component of the Learning Opportunities Grant,
and the New Pupil Places Allocation of the Pupil Accommodation Grant also
receive increased funding for board administration and governance.
Pupil Accommodation Grant
Pupil Accommodation Grant
| |
Number of School Boards Receiving Grant |
Total Amount of Grant in 2003–04 |
| School Operations |
All |
$1.4 billion |
| School Renewal |
All |
$287 million |
| New Pupil Places |
60 |
$378 million |
| Prior Capital Commitments |
67 |
$301 million |
The Pupil
Accommodation Grant has four main components to help school boards
meet the costs of operating and maintaining schools and providing new
classroom accommodation where required.
The new approach to funding pupil accommodation means that boards
can respond quickly and build schools when they are needed. For example,
the York Region District School Board has a multi-year plan for a
$458.8 million construction program to build 66 new schools and additions.
The School Operations Allocation provides funding for the heating,
lighting, cleaning, and other routine maintenance of schools.
The School Renewal Allocation provides funding for the renovation
and repair of schools.
The New Pupil Places Allocation provides funding for new schools
or additions where school boards have used all existing school buildings
effectively and cannot accommodate growth in student enrolment without
new buildings or additions. The New Pupil Places Allocation provides funding
at the level a school board requires to finance construction costs over
25 years.
All school boards receive funding for school operations and renewal.
Only boards with enrolment that exceeds the current capacity of their
schools, or boards that are eligible for funding to recognize local accommodation
pressures, receive funding for new pupil places.
Each of these grants is calculated on the basis of enrolment, benchmark
area requirements, and benchmark costs.
The Pupil Accommodation Grant also provides funding for Prior Capital
Commitments to meet the ongoing costs of capital projects that were
approved before student-focused funding was in place.
In 1999–2000, the government introduced changes to the School
Operations and the School Renewal Allocations that significantly increased
resources for school boards. The first change recognizes the need for
additional space resulting from, for example, special education programs
or hallways that are wider than average. The second change helps school
boards to continue to operate a school that is not full by adding a “top-up”
of as much as 20 percent of the school’s capacity (for example,
a school that is 80 percent full is eligible for funding as if it were
at 100 percent capacity).
A Geographic Adjustment Factor is applied to the New Pupil Places Allocation
in recognition of different construction costs across the province. The
Geographic Adjustment Factor is based on the distance component of the
Remote and Rural Allocation.
In 2001–02, the government introduced changes to provide resources
to boards that would otherwise be ineligible for New Pupil Places funding,
to address significant and persistent enrolment pressures at specific
schools. Similar changes were also introduced for boards that have no
schools in specific parts of their jurisdictions, but have schools with
excess capacity elsewhere.
Funding for school renewal was increased by $25 million in 2002–03
to enable school boards to make urgently needed repairs and renovation.
For 2003–04, this enhancement was increased by an additional $25
million in response to a recommendation of the Education Equality Task
Force. This additional funding is being distributed in a way that reflects
the ministry’s estimates of school renewal needs for each board
based on information provided through the School Condition Reports of
the Accountability Framework for Pupil Accommodation.
In the 2002 Ontario Budget, the government announced a program to assess
school renewal needs across the province over two years. This program
will result in detailed inspections of each school by building professionals,
and implementation of a standard asset management software in each board.
In 2003–04, funding is being provided to address the accommodation
needs at 34 schools deemed prohibitive to repair. In 2002–03,
the first year of the Prohibitive to Repair policy, 9 schools were
deemed too costly to repair.
The project has been divided into two phases. In the first phase, schools
with the most pressing needs (as identified by boards) were inspected
between November 2002 and January 2003. This phase determined which facilities
were too costly to repair.
In 2003–04, the government has provided an additional $25 million
to enable boards to construct replacement facilities for schools that
are too costly to repair.
- $12.4 million is allocated in 2003–04 for 34 schools identified
as being prohibitive to repair as a result of inspections conducted
in the final phase. This level of funding will support construction
projects valued at $124 million.
- $12.6 million is being reserved to support capital construction costs
associated with replacing prohibitive to repair schools identified in
the ongoing school inspection program. This funding will be allocated
after a further inspection of schools (to be completed by December 2003).
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