A Question of Equity

In Manitoba, our public schools are funded from a combination of sources, with almost all coming from two sources: from the local level via property taxes, and from the provincial government, via an annual operating grant. This funding scheme is intended to ensure equity from division to division, and (in conjunction with the work that the local school board does), school to school.

But is equity achieved? Even the casual observer can readily see that it is not. Schools in wealthier areas are visibly better equipped.

There are two primary reasons for this: one at the division level, and one at the school level.

From division to division, there will be inequities due to the “property tax effect,” which is a simple matter of there being pockets of wealth. If the total amount required to run the school division is acquired via property taxes, there is no need for a provincial top-up. On the surface, that sounds desirable – except that in these cases, often, the amount required to run the division is exceeded by property taxation, resulting in higher funding per student than in neighbouring districts.

Within one school division, regardless of what ratio of funding comes from a provincial or a municipal source, there will also be built-in inequity. Fundraising initiatives that take place for a wide range of purposes – playground equipment, field trips, even classroom supplies and library materials – naturally have better success in wealthy neighbourhoods than in impoverished ones. The end result? Students in wealthier schools will have more and better field trips, better equipment, more supplies. Their learning environment and experience will be enriched by all of these extras. Their education will be better.

I'm confident that a statistician somewhere could develop a formula which could consider funds raised through parental and community contributions and the like, and redistribute some of that additional wealth to the needier schools – a clawback of sorts. Or, the school division could create a fundraising pool, from which every school would receive a portion based on their number of students. Or perhaps a formula could be struck which allots government funding “boosters” to those schools incapable of raising adequate funds in the community.

But being capable of doing that, and actually trying to enact that change, are two different matters. The privileged in our communities enjoy their privileged status. They want a better education for their children. They think it is fair.

This is intended not as a slam against Manitoba's wealthier demographic, but simply an observation about our society in general. In fact, our capitalist system is based on this desire for bigger and better. It is not by accident that the wealthier people live in these wealthy areas ... it is by making acquisition of wealth a priority that one typically winds up being among the privileged few. Had each of these individuals been of the opinion that society should be equitable, they simply would not find themselves living that lifestyle.

So. How does one reconcile these two positions?

Personally, I would be in favour of a clawback ... or some means of effecting true equity, or at least something closer to it than we have. But I cannot see it happening. I think that when it comes right down to it, the people whose voice is heard will be those who are not uncomfortable with inequity. I think that is why we still have such variations today.

I don't anticipate seeing real equity in my lifetime, but will certainly support any movement towards it. Maybe some day...