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Ministry of Education

Mcguinty Government Investing In Schools In Small Communities

New Allocation Will Help Students Succeed

    KINGSTON, ON, May 3  - The McGuinty government is investing in 177
schools in small communities across the province to help their students
succeed, Education Minister Kathleen Wynne announced today.
    "Our students are doing better because of our ambitious program of
education investment and reform," said Wynne while visiting with students and
staff at a high school in Kingston. "We understand the unique needs of
isolated schools and this new investment helps to put these schools on equal
footing with their urban counterparts, so they have the same advantages as the
students here at Regiopolis-Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School."
    The province is investing $10 million in a new Supported Schools
Allocation. The allocation helps ensure the viability of schools in small
Ontario communities where schools have low enrolment and are a significant
distance from other schools of the board. The allocation builds on the School
Foundation Grant that was introduced last year to ensure that every school is
funded for a principal and a full-time secretary regardless of the school's
enrolment.
    This new allocation will provide schools with ongoing funding for
teaching staff. For the 2007-08 school year, a total of 177 schools across the
province would be eligible to receive support from the allocation.

    

    Under the Supported Schools Allocation:

    -   An elementary school - with at least 50 students - which is 30
        kilometres or more from any other elementary school of the board
        would be eligible for funding to support a minimum of 7.5 teachers.
    -   A secondary school - with at least 50 students - which is 60
        kilometres or more from any other secondary school of the board would
        be eligible for funding to support a minimum of 14 teachers.
    
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    For the 2007-08 school year, the government's education investment of
$18.3 billion is an increase of $781 million over last year. Since 2002-03,
funding has increased by $3.5 billion - a 24 per cent increase, or the
equivalent of a $2,000 increase per student.
    "This increase, along with the Supported Schools Allocation, is helping
us reach every student in our community," said Kingston and The Islands MPP
John Gerretsen. "Today's announcement will provide our students with the tools
they need to succeed now and into the future."
    "Our government is continuing to improve the funding formula so that
students across the province are getting better support than they were four
years ago," said Wynne. "We will continue working with our education partners
and stay focused on helping all students reach their full potential."

    

    Disponible en français

                              www.edu.gov.on.ca
                           www.ontario.ca/progress



    Backgrounder
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         SUPPORTED SCHOOLS ALLOCATION ENSURES VIABILITY OF SCHOOLS IN
                          SMALL ONTARIO COMMUNITIES

    Three new grants were announced as part of the Grants for Student Needs.
The McGuinty government is investing $10 million through one of these grants-
the new Supported Schools Allocation - in 2007-08.
    A school will be defined as a 'supported school' and generate funding
through the Supported Schools Allocation if the school is:

    -   An elementary school which is 30 kilometres or more from any other
        elementary school of the board
    -   A secondary school which is 60 kilometres or more from any other
        secondary school of the board.

    Funding for teacher staffing will be provided as follows:

    -   Supported elementary schools with 50 or more students would be
        eligible for funding to support a minimum of 7.5 teachers.
    -   Supported secondary schools with 50 or more students would be
        eligible for funding to support a minimum of 14 teachers.
    -   As enrolment increases beyond 150 for a supported elementary school
        or beyond 200 for a supported secondary school, these schools will
        generate additional funding for teachers - beyond funding formula
        standards - to reflect the fact that providing specialist teachers
        and programs may require travel by teachers.
    -   Funding for teachers will be scaled for supported schools with
        enrolments of fewer than 50 students.
    

    The new investment in 2007-08 will ensure that funding generated through
the new Supported Schools Allocation and the realigned Distant Schools
Allocation (DSA) will meet or exceed the funding generated through last year's
DSA.
    The Supported Schools would also be eligible for funding at 100 per cent
of their student capacity from the School Operations and School Renewal
grants.

    

    Supported Schools in the Kingston area:

    Limestone District School Board

    -   Amherst Island Public School, Loyalist
    -   Clarendon Central Public School, North Frontenac
    -   Marysville Public School, Frontenac Islands

    Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board

    -   Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School, Bancroft
    -   Sacred Heart Catholic School, Marmora and Lake
    -   Sacred Heart Catholic School, Frontenac Islands
    -   St. James Major Catholic School, Central Frontenac
    -   St. Martin's Catholic School, South Algonquin

    Conseil de district des écoles publiques de langue française no.59

    -   Ecole élémentaire publique Madeline-de-Roybon, Kingston
    -   Ecole secondaire publique Mille-îles, Kingston

    Conseil scolaire de district catholique du Centre-Est de l'Ontario

    -   Ecole élémentaire catholique Monseigneur-Remi-Gaulin, Kingston
    -   Ecole secondaire catholique Marie-Rivier, Kingston


    Disponible en français

                              www.edu.gov.on.ca
                           www.ontario.ca/progress