ONTARIO—The Ontario Library Association (OLA) is looking for support of its petition to make sure school libraries throughout the province continue to receive the funding it needs.
“This past April, the Ministry of Education introduced a new funding model that eliminated protected funding for school libraries and library staff, as well as accountability measures that were implemented in 2021,” an OLA website states. “This new education funding model now adds additional pressure to already at-risk school-libraries and their staff. Without accountability, or enveloped funding, school boards will continue to cut school library funding in response to growing budgetary challenges province-wide.”
Esteban Dorado of OLA told The Expositor, “My understanding is that the province put in place a new funding model. Previously an amount the boards received for school libraries was specifically to be used for them (school libraries). However, with the changes made by the province using the funds in the school library envelope and using the funds specifically for school libraries is no longer a requirement for school boards. There have already been issues where the funding is going, and now with the government changes there is no way to make sure school libraries are where the funds are going.”
Mr. Dorado stressed, “there are a lot of the vast majority of school administrators that care and make sure the funds provided to school board goes into the right place.”
“But school boards can, if they want, spend the funding for libraries on other things,” said Mr. Dorado. “Money for libraries and staffing can now be used on everything.”
“We are hearing stories of people working in school libraries feeling under resourced,” said Mr. Dorado.
In a recent letter to the Minister of Education, Wendy Burch Jones, president of OLA wrote, “Protecting provincial funding allowed to school boards for school libraries and library staff is more critical than ever. Over the past two decades, due to school board-level decisions, hundreds of thousands of students across Ontario have lost access to school libraries and the critical resources and support they provide. In the past few years, this has accelerated as several of Ontario’s largest school boards have made dramatic reductions to school libraries and library staff, affecting hundreds of thousands of students. Other school boards in both urban and rural communities have eliminated them altogether.”
“In our petition we are basically calling for school boards to let school libraries keep the funding they have,” said Mr. Dorado.
In the OLA petition to the province they are asking the province to protect school libraries for Ontario students by reversing the core education funding model to fully protect funding for school library staff and resources, equivalent to the provincial funding formula; re-institute its policy requiring all school boards to report annually on the allocation and expenditure of funds specifically designated for school libraries, mandate that these reports include information on the staffing of school libraries, ensuring that they are staffed by professional teacher-librarians to maximize the benefits for students, and mandate that these reports be made publicly accessible to hold school boards accountable and allow parents, educators, and stakeholders to understand how funds are being utilized to support school library services.
