Internship: Waste in Secondary School Funding in BC

Summary

The purpose of this internship was to assess the BC Ministry of Education spending in order to inform public debate. The intern conducted foundational research analyzing the way that the BC Ministry of Education allocated funds to school districts and the effectiveness of fund allocation. The research indicated that British Columbia may be spending considerably more than they would if they funded school districts on a per-class basis for part time students’ registration. The research conducted during this internship provided the foundation for an education Policy Brief published by the Fraser Institute in 2003.

Grant Outputs

The $100,000,000 Giveaway: Who Says Education Doesn’t Get Enough Money? – http://www.fraserinstitute.org/research-news/research/display.aspx?id=13473

This article reports that the Ministry of Education in British Columbia provides a basic annual allotment of $3,339 per student registered in at least one class. For students registered in a full course load (8 classes per year) the total funding amount rises to a maximum of $5,343. The report suggests that school districts are thus financially motivated to encourage students to register in fewer courses, even if it is not in the best interests of the student to do so. The brief concludes with a number of policy proposals, such as eliminating fund allocation that favours low course enrollment.