School board uses direct mail to lobby province
Last Updated: Monday, August 28, 2000 | 5:51 PM ET
CBC News
The school board mailed out flyers enclosed in its fall programs booklet. The board wants people to tell the Ontario government to come up with a better funding formula, so millions of dollars more won't have to be cut from the OCDSB.
The pamphlets cost the board a total of $20,000, but parent Karen Irving thinks the board's direct-mail approach is right on the money.
"When I saw this thing I thought 'Wow! They're finally taking a stand. They're finally getting up the gumption to actually speak the truth in a way that will reach a lot of people,'" says Irving. She and her husband have fought to keep their local school open.
"If the province doesn't smarten up, the board will be expected to cut another $10 or $12 million from a budget that is already falling apart. The dirty little secret is that the school system is falling apart. Our kids are paying for it, and finally the board is saying so," says parent Mitchell Beer.
The board says the government has cut more than $60 million over the past three years. This leaves another $23 million still to be chopped from next year's budget.
The board's chair Jim Libbey says, "People have to understand that we're now down to the bare bones. We're into the instructional programs. This is about our community and its educational programs. It's very important."
A spokesman for the education ministry says the government's goal is to direct more funding to the classroom. The ministry also says it's allocating $700 million more across Ontario this year than it did three years ago.
But with the school year about to start, parents and board officials are gearing up to lobby Queens Park. And with the pamphlet, they're hoping the public will get involved.
