THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA AN INQUIRY INTO THE IMPLICATIONS OF FULL PROVINCIAL FUNDING AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR FINANCING THE PUBLiC SCHOOLS OF MANITOBA by GLENN HARVEY NTCHOLLS A THESTS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGRIE OF DOCTOR OF PHiLOSOPHY I^IINNIPEG, MANITOBA DECEMBER, L979 AN INQUIRY INTO THT II'IPLICATIONS OF FULL PROVINCIAL FUNDING AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR FTNANCING THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF MANITOBA BY GLENN HARVTY NICHOLLS A thesis subrllitted to the Factrltl' of Cradt¡atc StLrdics ol' t¡e Ulliversity of Manitoba in partial firlfillnrclit of the re qrtiretltc'rtts of the degree of DOCTOR OF PIIILOSOPIIY ol l98o Pennission has been grattted to the LIBRARY OF TIIE UNIVI-R- SITY OF MANITOBA to lend or sell copies ol tliis thesis. to the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA to trticrofilrl this thesis and to lerrd or sell copies of the filnr. anci UNIVERSITY MICROFILIIIS to publish an abstract of tliis thesis. The author reserves other publicatiolt rights. alld lleitlter the thesis nor extensive extracts f ronr it nlay be printed or othcr- rvise reproduced rvithout the aLtthor's writtell ¡:ertltissiott. *:% tF fsiÂf,tlî*Ëå l@e:# åfn¡i¡icr\å ABSTRACT Thjs thesis examíned the implications of fuli provinciai funding of the costs of public school education in Manitoba As background, four basjc p¡inciples underlying the financ'ing of education -- fiscal equity, equalìty of educat'ionaj opportunity' financial accountabjlity and local autonomy -- were defined. Fiscal equity was seen tO imply fairness or iustice in the impos'ition of taxes, o¡in the collect'ion from taxpayers of the funds necessary for education. Equality of educational opportunity suggested an allocation of funds in such a manner as to ensure access to educatìonal programs for alj students regard'less of economic and social background, and to provide for a variety of programs to meet the needs of the total school population. Financial accountabiiity derived from a reconc'iliation of costs with maximum effectiveness and efficiency. Local autonomy resulted from fiscal decision-making by those most affected. It was felt that any education finance program for tilanitoba would seek to recognize these princ'iples. Further study focused on current funding po'licies Ín I'ianitoba and in other jurisdictions, both on sources of revenue such as property, sales, and inconæ taxes; and on distribution schemes'including founda- tion p1ans, equalization programs, and fuì1 prov'incìal fund'ing. Parti- cular attention was paid to the relationships between these po1ìcies and the fOur basic principìes underJying education finance. The educati on fi nance pol j cies of l,lani toba! s three maior pol i ti caì j organì z- part.ies were exami ned, as were those of i nf I uenti al educat'iona ations such as The Manitoba Teachersr Society, The l\lanìtoba Association of School Trustees, the Manitoba Association of School superintendents, Mjnister the Manitoba Association of school Business Officials, and the pro- of Education's Advisory Committee on Educatíon Finance. Reports union duced by The Manìtoba Assocjation of urban Municipalit'ies, the of Manitoba Municipalitjes, the Manitoba chambers of commerce, and the Task Force on Government Organization and Economy were also studied. vantage Qnce agaìn, the policìes of these groups were viewed from the po'int of their recognizing principles of equity, equality' account- abiljty and autonomY. An appraìsa1 of current practices and the present poljtical climate led to the conclusjon that the time was opportune for financial reform. Further, such reform could best be achieved in Manitoba with fulj provincial funding of the costs of education; Recommendations for .implementation included a gradual reduction in property tax' coupled with increased funding from consolidated revenues' by 1984' pupil block A grant formula to include cap'itai, transportation, and grants, with categorical and incentive grants where appropriate' was also recommended. prov'i fundi ng of The wr.i ter concl uded that i ni ti ati on of ful I nci al present time . il.re costs of public school education in l'lanitoba at the pro- would realize in greater measure than does the current foundation gram the principles of fiscal equity, equ4f ity of educationai oppor- tunity and financial accountability. Aiso, while such a proposal would undoubtedly resu'lt in some increase in provincial fiscal controls, it would nevertheJess provide for the retention of a meaningfuì level of local autonomy. Thus, fulì províncial funding, with reliance on these four princ'iples, would introduce a c'learer rationale for the financing of public school education in Manitoba. ACKNOI,lLEDGEMENTS The writer acknowledges the assistance provided by members of his thesis commìttee. in particular, ihe writer acknowledges the encouragement and criticisms offered by Ðr. Carl Biarnason who served as chairman of the committee. Apprec'iat'ion is expressed to successive Ministers and Deputy Ministers jn the Department of Education who provided access to Government financial information. Mrs. Iris Maurstad, on the staff of The Public Schools Finance Board, was especiaì]y helpful. There are many representatiVes of other government bodies' of educationaj organizations, and of poljt'ical partÍes without whose cooperation this study would not have been possible. special thanks are due, also, to Mrs. Evelyne Lewko who typed this manuscript. For patìencee encouragement and understanding, the writer is i ndebted to hi s wi fe , Neva, and fam'ily. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I" INTR0DUCTI0N: STATEI'IENT OF THE PROBLEM L The Probiem q'l ioaatqeai 1 Si gni fi cance of the Study 2 Methodoiogy , Organization. Limi tati ons. 7 Del imi tations ta Defi ni ti ons 8 II. UNDTRLYING PRINCIPLES FOR THI FINANCING OF EDUCATI ON tatla.t.aa 10 FiscalEquityerr.a 10 Equal i ty of Educati onal Opportunity.t,!r 13 Financi al Accountabi 1 itY t7 Local Autonomy a I 18 III" CURRENT EDUCATION FINANCE PROGRAMS: RELATIONSHIP TOPRINCIPLES..T t. ! 22 22 Sources of Revenue for Financing Education a 'l Distribution of Funds. .,' 39 Foundation Pians. t . t e a . r r r r 39 Equalizationschemes ?. q,?q 44 Ful i provi nci a'l f undi ng . 47 !aa 48 Summary. 50 ii CHAPTER PAGE IV. THE MANITOBA SCTNE: A FINANCIAL OVERVIEl.l 53 Historical Survey of Education Finance in Man i toba 53 Current Practice: a Descriptive Analysis 58 Revenues 58 Grants 59 Review of the Political Ciimate. 65 The Policies of Political Parties. 66 Liberal Party 66 New Democratic Party . 73 Progressive Conservative Party 81 Lobbies and Pressure GrouPs. 86 The frlanitoba Teachers' Society 87 The lrlan i toba As soci at'i on of School Trustees 93 The Manitoba Association of Schoo'l Superi ntendents. 98 The Manitoba Associat'ion of School Business Officials 104 The tr,l'inister of Education's Advisory Committee on Education Finance i05 The l{an i toba As soc i ati on of Urban l'lunicipaf ities 108 iii CHAPTER PAGE IV. The Uni on of Mani toba Muni ci pal i ti es ' ILz The Manitoba Chambers of Commerce I72 The Task Force on Government Organization and EconomY 114 An Appraisal of Current Practice and Political Cjimate 117 Lack of Rationale and Consensus 717 Opportune Time for Financjal Reform 120 V. FULL PROVINCIAL FUNDING, AND iTS iMPLICATiONS. I25 Advantages. 125 Di sadvantages I28 An Apprai sa'l of the Fi nanci al Real i ti es 133 Proposal for Fuli Provincial Funding 135 Sources of Funds: A Questjon of Equ'ity 141 Disposition of Funds: A Question of Equal ity of Educational I49 OPPortuni tY ' : Budget and Other Implicatjons of Full Provi nci ai Fundi ng : Fi nanci al 154 Accountability and Local Autonomy " I57 Imp'lementati on iv CHAPTER PAGE 160 VI. RECOMMENDATiONS AND CONCLUSION . 164 B IBLIOGRAPHY LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE i" Bal anced Assessment Per Pupiì , 1977 ii IT. Sources of School Board Revenue in Canada, i954-68 25 iII. Sources of School Board Revenue, Ten 25 Provi nces, 1968 " IV. Sources of Revenue for Public t'lementary and Secondary Schools in the U.S.A. in Seiected Years -- 1919 to 1969 26 V. Foundation Grants for Classroom Teachers by Qualifications and Years of Experience 56 vi. Equa'l i zati on Grant Schedul e , IgTg - 63 VII" Financing Education jn Manitoba, I974'L979 119 VIII. Per Capita Property Taxes in Doilars, State-by-State, 1966-7 6 r22 IX" Expenditure Proiections, 1980-1984, Based on Average Percentage Increase in Per Pupil Costs, I974-1979. t37 X. Expendìture Proiections, 1980-1984' Based on Average Dollar Increase in Per Pupi'l Costs, 1974-L979" . 139 - xi. Tax Credit Benefits by Calendar Year. 155 XII" Guideline for Implementation of Fuil Provincial Funding: Source of Funds. 158 CHAPTER I iNTRODUCTION: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM i. THE PROBLEM In essence, we concluded that what is needed and desired is the assumption of compìete res- pons i bi I i ty by the prov'i nce for f i nanci ng pub'l i c school education.... In no other way can equity be ensured, or educational disadvantage resulting from residence in less affluent regions or communi ties ended. l In expiaining the reasonìng under'lying the I974 recommendations of Nova Scotia's Royal Commission on Education, Chairman Dr. John Graham raised a basic concern about the financing of public school education in Canada. Methods of raising revenues for education had not resulted in equ'ity for taxpayers, nor had methods of funding educa- tional costs produced equality of educational opportunity for chjldren. For Dr. Graham, if equity for taxpayers and equal opport- unity for students were to be achieved, alternative fiscal measures had to be examined.