Elections
The Ontario School Funding Formula currently incentivizes local school boards to neglect and close neighbourhood schools. Do you support keeping neighbourhood schools open? If so, how?
Responses to the question: "The Ontario School Funding Formula currently incentivizes local school boards to neglect and close neighbourhood schools. Do you support keeping neighbourhood schools open? If so, how?"
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15 Candidate Responses (top)
| Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Brief Response | Full Response |
| Barry Spruce | No | Freedom Party position on Public Schools is to look for efficiency opportunities, the cost of public education is a huge portion of the Provincial Budget, as the demographics change in a community, then in some cases it makes sense to change the locations and possibly close some locations or consolidate. We need to consider all options to continue to be effective and consider the taxpayers costs. |
| Raymond Dartsch | Yes | Keep the neighbourhood schools open by eliminating the separate school board. This would save administrative dollars and would allow a huge logistical rationalization in matching kids up with their nearest school. Kids of all faiths should be walking to their local school together.
|
| Ted McMeekin | Maybe | Across the province, there are 481,000 empty school spaces and over 600 schools are operating below 50 per cent capacity. To better utilize existing school infrastructure and reduce excess capacity in the system, Ontario has announced $750 million over four years in new capital funding to support school consolidations. This funding would support consolidations through retrofits, additions to existing schools, or the construction of new facilities. This funding commitment is more than any other party.
None of us is as smart as all of us working together. The oft-referenced 'funding formula' is complex and, contrary to perceptions, is constantly changing. That said I support finding ways to work better with the communities we serve. This will require more focus on partnership to address declining enrolments (down over 20%) and increasing costs (up over 30%) of providing education. We look to our school boards to make tough and strategic decisions that benefit the people that matter most, our children - who are on an educational journey that is entrusted to us. The ARC process needs a tune up but that can best happen in the context of a municipality and its school boards committing to a joint planning and vision discussion where the best ideas for any reform can be presented. We should create a representative partnership 'table' to engage in a thoughtful and realistic discussion of options that can move us forward. I commit to making this happen. I was pleased to work quietly but effectively with the community and HWDSB to save Millgrove Public School, a vibrant and innovative rural hub. |
| Hamilton Centre | ||
| Candidate | Brief Response | Full Response |
| Bob Mann | Yes | Schools should be maintained and expanded as social and cultural neighbourhood centres. Children should not have to travel further and further from their homes to go to school. The funding must come from the province from a pool of money raised from progressive tax reform based on the ability to pay, by doubling the corporate income tax rate to 23% (where it used to be) and restoring the capital tax on corporate wealth. This should be the base for actually expanding social programs and projects. |
| Donna Tiqui-Shebib | Maybe | I understand the connection families have to their local schools. I also know that decisions about school closures are some of the most difficult faced by school boards. I want to stress though, that these decisions are made at the local level - by elected
school boards in response to demographic shifts, and that the only role the province has in the school closure process is to ensure the school board properly consults the community. The provincial government does, however, provide school boards with specific funding to support small, rural and underutilized schools for maintenance and operation. To help ensure that more viable schools are able to remain open, our party will develop and support school-community hubs to promote efficient use of public assets, build better ties between schools and municipalities and other community organizations. The Ontario Liberal Party wants our students to be in buildings that enhance learning. That's why we're providing over $11.6 billion in capital funding for school boards, including funding for over 610 new schools. $49 million is earmarked for Hamilton, and going towards two additions for the HWCDSB and two new schools for HWDSB. |
| John Vail | Maybe | Thanks for the questions but in my opinion they are better directed to municipal candidates as the questions relate directly to municipal issues and not to provincial issues which are jobs, the provincial economy, the provincial deficit, provincial debt reduction, and lower provincial taxes |
| Peter Ormond | Yes | The fact that Hamilton's Board of Trustees voted to demolish beautiful old schools and the historic school board building should not be forgotten. Look at the successful Eva Rothwell Centre, now running out of the historic Robert Land School building. Schools are hubs. The buildings should be preserved as community hubs at least.
Urban sprawl has to stop as well. There is some intensification happening within the city boundaries. As the intensification continues and the mass transit is built, the inner core and central hubs will again be the desired place to be. This also points to the Green Party policy indicating that the school boards should be merged. It begins with a discussion to determine what opportunities there are for sharing resources. Society is interested in efficiency when comes to electricity and our vehicles. Naturally, then a review of our independent school boards makes sense. Again, it all begins with a discussion. |
| Hamilton East-Stoney Creek | ||
| Candidate | Brief Response | Full Response |
| Paul Miller | Yes | The Ontario NDP knows that public education is that key to Ontario's future. We also understand that schools are at the heart of our communities. We've seen too many communities torn apart by school closures. Hundreds of schools have been on the chopping block under the Liberals - and nothing is stopping hundreds more from closing.
The Ontario NDP is committing $60 million a year, starting in 2016, to an Open Schools fund. These funds will be made available to help keep schools threatened with closure open, to make essential school renovations, and to repurpose under-utilized space for other usage by the community. Schools will also be able to apply to this fund to increase free and low-fee access for non-profit groups use school space during evenings and weekends. |
| Hamilton Mountain | ||
| Candidate | Brief Response | Full Response |
| Greg Lenko | Yes | Keeping schools open is a must. Thus far the most reasonable method of keeping students in schools in their current neighbourhoods is one that would also increase enrolment, increase funding, build stronger communities where all kids, parents and families socialized together. It is a system that would truly reflect Canada being a multicultural society that would be inclusive to all students regardless of culture or religious denomination. Separate and public school boards should be merged. By merging, the schools would have greater attendance and the province would save between 1.2 and 1.6 billion dollars/year which could be used to improve schools and education. As it is anyone can go to a separate school and not take religion. That being the case it doesn't make sense to have two boards. |
| Hans Wienhold | No | I would support a gradual abolition of the Government Incorporated coercive "education" monopoly over a period of fifty years to allow the population to adjust to market based education solutions.
Education is too important to be left under the control of politicians and their self-serving cronies. |
| Monique Taylor | Yes | Yes. The Ontario NDP knows that public education is that key to Ontario's future. We also understand that schools are at the heart of our communities. We've seen too many communities torn apart by school closures. Hundreds of schools have been on the chopping block under the Liberals - and nothing is stopping hundreds more from closing.
The Ontario NDP is committing $60 million a year, starting in 2016, to an Open Schools fund. These funds will be made available to help keep schools threatened with closure open, to make essential school renovations, and to repurpose under-utilized space for other usage by the community. Schools will also be able to apply to this fund to increase free and low-fee access for non-profit groups use school space during evenings and weekends. |
| Niagara West-Glanbrook | ||
| Candidate | Brief Response | Full Response |
| Basia Krzyzanowski | Yes | The fact that Hamilton's Board of Trustees voted to demolish beautiful old schools and the historic school board building should not be forgotten. Look at the successful Eva Rothwell Centre, now running out of the historic Robert Land School building. Schools are hubs. The buildings should be preserved as community hubs at least.
Urban sprawl has to stop as well. There is some intensification happening within the city boundaries. As the intensification continues and the mass transit is built, the inner core and central hubs will again be the desired place to be. This also points to the Green Party policy indicating that the school boards should be merged. It begins with a discussion to determine what opportunities there are for sharing resources. Society is interested in efficiency when comes to electricity and our vehicles. Naturally, then a review of our independent school boards makes sense. Again, it all begins with a discussion. |
| Geoff Peacock | Maybe | In this election, Freedom Party candidates are focused on
two things: restoring trust in government by balancing the budget without massive job cuts, and restoring affordable electricity by pulling the plug on already-existing, over-priced, Liberal green energy deals (without a penalty). Our position is that there should be no new spending unless and until the budget is balanced. You may consider this my reply to all of the questions in your questionnaire. |
| Stefanos Keratopis | No | My answer to all of these questions are no. However, that does not mean these things should not be done. I just do not think government should be doing them. I am opposed to all forms of government monopolies.
With the province having a $295 Billion debt is it really a smart thing to commit itself to large scale projects and more massive spending and more unsustainable tax increases? We need to reduce the size of government, sell off all government monopolies such as the LCBO/OLG and use that money to reduce the provincial debt, invest in restoring Ontarians freedoms and get government out of the way of business and REMOVE ALL red tape so they can create jobs. Please visit https://libertarian.on.ca/platform to see our current platform. Vote Libertarian Party, The Party Of Choice. |
| Tim Hudak | Maybe | Thank you very much for your letter. We appreciate the opportunity to listen to your priorities for Ontario. We share your commitment to Ontario's future and believe that with more and better jobs, we can do what's necessary to bring about the change Ontario needs.
I'm excited about our Million Jobs Plan-a plan to bring jobs back to Ontario, stop overspending, balance the budget and keep our debt from growing. Our plan relies on the notion that government should be smaller, but what it does, it does better. Our priorities for this election can be found at www.millionjobsplan.com We need to face our challenges honestly and compassionately. It won't be easy, but it can be done and it will be worth it. I know we can build a previously unimagined Ontario, but it's going to take some courage and a willingness to challenge the failed status quo. That's what our Ontario PC Million Jobs Plan delivers. We are asking government to tighten its belt, the way everyday Ontarians have, so that one million men and women out of work will have a shot at solid, good-paying jobs. We've got a job to do. It's time to get Ontario working better. |
Response Summary (top)
| Brief Response | Count | % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 7 | 46.7% |
| No | 3 | 20.0% |
| Maybe | 5 | 33.3% |
15 Candidates Have Not Responded (top)
| Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale | ||
|---|---|---|
| Alex Johnstone | ||
| Donna Skelly | ||
| Glenn Langton | ||
| Hamilton Centre | ||
| Andrea Horwath | ||
| Peter Melanson | ||
| Hamilton East-Stoney Creek | ||
| Britney Anne Johnston | ||
| David Brown | ||
| Greg Zink | ||
| Ivan Luksic | ||
| Mark Burnison | ||
| Hamilton Mountain | ||
| Albert Marshall | ||
| Brian Goodwin | ||
| Javid Mirza | ||
| Niagara West-Glanbrook | ||
| Brian McCormack | ||
| David Mossey | ||
