Media Release from the Society for Quality Education

Funding for Faith-Based Schools a Move in the Right Direction

TORONTO – July 24, 2007

The Society for Quality Education welcomes the Ontario Progressive Conservatives’ proposal to invite faith-based schools to opt into public education – but it warns of pitfalls along the way.

Any policy that gives parents additional choices and creates more competition among schools is a move in the right direction. However, the Society is concerned lest the Conservatives attach strings to their funding that will force participating faith-based schools to lose their distinctive nature and become less able to serve their constituencies.

This is precisely what has happened to Ontario’s Catholic schools.

“We are waiting to see to what extent the Conservatives will require participating schools to submit to the regulatory burden that is crushing publicly-funding schools”, said Doretta Wilson, Society for Quality Education executive director. “If for example, eligible schools are forced to hire provincially-certified teachers or use provincially-approved textbooks, they will be in danger of losing their uniqueness.”

It is to everyone’s benefit to have strong public schools with healthy enrolments and the best way to keep enrolment high in publicly-funded schools is for the province’s district school boards to improve their performance and attract more students. Other jurisdictions in Canada, such as the Edmonton Public School Board, offer faith-based education under the public umbrella. All Edmonton schools have considerable autonomy.

The Society for Quality Education is a charitable, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting school choice in order to improve student learning in Canada . We invite the public to learn more about what school choice is and the options available on our website: www.societyforqualityeducation.org

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