Students in B.C. are continuing to benefit from increased investments, more teachers and more funding to support Indigenous education and students with special needs, with additional funding for B.C.’s public school districts in 2019-20.
“More and more families and students are coming to B.C., and we are ensuring they can access our world-class public education system with increased funding and support,” said Rob Fleming, Minister of Education. “This year, B.C.’s public school districts are receiving significantly more funding than ever before, including more funding for Indigenous education and increased support for students with special needs.”
Public school operating grants have increased by $161 million in 2019-20. Funding for students with special needs is up by $63.7 million compared to last year and totals $601.7 million for 2019-20 — a 30% increase over the 2016-17 school year. The ministry is also increasing funding to support Indigenous students, bringing the total funding to $89.6 million this year — a $14.7 million increase over last year and a 29% increase over the 2016-17 school year.
Government is providing $450 million for school districts to continue funding 4,200 teachers hired in the past three years through the Classroom Enhancement Fund, including 700 special education teachers and 190 teacher-psychologists and counsellors. The increases in operating funding have also helped support districts with hiring more than 1,000 new education assistants over the past three years.
Government has invested an additional $1 billion overall in the education system this fiscal year compared to what the previous government provided in 2016-17. This allows $838 million more to go directly to public school districts for operating funding to support students.
As of September 2019, an additional 5,100 full-time equivalent students are enrolled in B.C.’s schools compared to the year before. The districts with the highest growth in students are:
- Surrey (+1,039)
- Burnaby (+441)
- Central Okanagan (+377)
- Langley (+336)
- Sooke (+281)
“We’re pleased to see more students in our public schools and additional funds from the Ministry of Education to support them,” said Stephanie Higginson, president, B.C. School Trustees’ Association. “Our public education system is one of the best in the world. We are grateful that the ministry is committed to making sure all families and students in our province have access to high-quality public education. We’re also thankful to see additional investments for Indigenous students and students with special needs to help ensure that our education system is truly inclusive.”
Most districts are growing, as 40 of B.C.’s 60 school districts had their enrolment increase over last year, while 20 had declines. Overall student enrolment is up for the fifth year in a row.
Quick Facts:
- In total, 547,830 full-time equivalent students enrolled in B.C.’s public schools in September 2019 — up from 542,650 in 2018.
- Budget 2019 invested $6.6 billion in operating funding for B.C’s education system in 2019-20.
Learn More:
Funding information for each school district can be found here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/administration/resource-management/k-12-funding-and-allocation/operating-grants/k12funding-19-20
For a backgrounder with enrolment breakdowns for each school district, visit: http://news.gov.bc.ca/files/Enrolments-and-Operating-Grants-2019-2020-Backgrounder.pdf