By increasing funding for non-public schools, the government is effectively taking money out of public education.
The provincial government recently announced upping their funding of private schools to 50 per cent per student of what public schools receive and 80 per cent to associate schools. By doing so, the government is showing a lack of interest in improving the public school system.
These others schools should certainly be allowed to operate, but they shouldn't be funded by the public.
When the government supports a school of religion, whether it be Catholics or Jews or Muslims, they give the impression it's best that these groups have a school that is exclusive to them. That's the exact opposite of what is in the best interests of the public, which should be the top consideration of government. What is best for the public is to have its children go to school in an environment that welcomes everybody.
Public means for everyone, and the money being distributed to these specialty schools should be going back into the public system because there is always something that can be done to help the public schools. I recall a rift between the teachers and the government just a few months ago, in which the teachers worked for most of a year without a contract. A little extra money in education's rainy day fund might have quelled those labour negotiations a little quicker.
Instead of classes being cancelled for strikes, the school year could have run uninterrupted.
I remember when John Tory, the head of the Ontario Tories in 2007, suggested during his provincial campaign he would favour the government supporting schools of all faiths in the name of fairness, since Christian and Catholic schools were already getting money. Not only was that ridiculous, but a better campaign promise would have been to suggest a cancellation of the money being handed down to any non-public school boards.
That's exactly what Saskatchewan should be doing. We should move away from exclusive schools, and put our efforts into the public system that is welcome to and accepting of everybody. The province should be politely telling these non-public school boards to prepare themselves, because in five years they won't be seeing any more tax money.
There just shouldn't be taxpayer support behind an institution that isn't available to everyone.
To say that the government can't strip these institutions of money because it was ingrained into the system when the country was being drawn up 150 years ago, is a poor excuse to keep funding around for private schools. It is maybe saying too much to send these schools off cold turkey, but the process of weaning them off the public dollar can begin anytime. It's long overdue.
