BARRIE, ON – On the heels of an educational funding announcement by the province for summer math programs, one local board has confirmed it cancelled its programs due to funding concerns.
The Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board says it cancelled its summer learning program because of the uncertainty of provincial funding earlier in the year.
Pauline Stevenson, communications manager for the board, confirmed that the funding simply came too late to implement any plans.
“The province said go ahead but said they could not confirm how much funding would be made available,” explained Stevenson. “We are a very cautious board when it comes to spending so we just could not justify the risk of having a shortfall.”
She said planning for summer programs typically takes place in February. When the board had not heard by May what the funding model was, the decision to cancel was made. When the funding did come “it was too little, too late.”
“You don’t just throw these together at the last moment,” Stevenson said. “You need to know where you are doing it, the curriculum, staffing, a lot goes into it.”
Stevenson said the programs are well attended and had been running at five or six schools in the geographically large area it serves.
She also pointed out that the funding announcement of $6 million by new education minister Stephen Lecce was actually for funding that had been previously announced. There was no new money being provided.
The SMCDSB like most boards in the province has seen low math test scores and it is a priority to lay the framework to improve those scores confirmed Stevenson.
The province is touting online learning modules as an option for parents who do not have access to summer learning programs.
