TORONTO - Ontario's education funding formula needs to be reviewed now and government spending should be scrutinized every year to ensure schools are getting what they need, New Democrat Leader Howard Hampton said Tuesday.
The Liberal government has said it will wait until 2010 before launching a review of the funding formula but Hampton says that process cannot wait.
School boards are being forced to make cuts based on rising costs that weren't accounted for and the education system is suffering as a result, he said.
"We cannot continue to go down a road where schools are inadequately funded, where principals, administrators and trustees are constantly being forced to make more decisions about more cuts," Hampton said.
"If, for example, natural gas rates go up by 80 per cent and that isn't reflected in the school funding formula then you end up where we are today -- money's being taken out of the English-as-a-Second-Language budget, money's being taken out of special education to pay the heating bill."
He also committed to invest an additional $100 million through a Local Priorities Grant, which would give school boards $200 per student to fund essentials and unique priorities.
Hampton also said new money should be set aside for students at risk who go to school in communities where violence and crime is common.
He suggested as much as $400 million could be earmarked for special programs in those communities.
Premier Dalton McGuinty has said the Liberals aren't planning an immediate review of the funding formula because they want to assess the impact of recently announced funding first.
