In the update last week, we pointed to the soundness of professional and moral judgment by Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce, in directing the Peel District School Board to reverse its decision to mark “Nakba Day of Remembrance” day in the classroom as a calendar holiday.
In an update six months earlier, in the immediate aftermath of October 7, we also pointed to and praised Minister Lecce for the soundness and courage of his moral judgment in speaking to Motion No. 38 Defence of Israel in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
In particular, we focused on three aspects of Minister Lecce’s speech. He described Hamas with precise factual clarity; criticized Hamas’ supporters here in Ontario for their embrace of terrorists and terrorism; and he called upon all Ontarians who care for democracy to act without ambiguity to protect it in the face of Hamas’ apologists and supporters’ anti-democratic inclinations and methods.
“We have to speak with moral decency, with moral courage,” Minister Lecce said. “We will not be bystanders. We will use our power for good. We must be on guard for all manners of hate and fight hate and haters….For the sake of freedom, human rights and democracy, I ask us all: Do we possess the moral courage to do what is right even if it is not easy? Do we possess the moral courage to stand up to evil? …We are standing for fundamental Canadian values that transcend partisan politics. We must pick the right side of human history. “
It is against the backdrop of Minister Lecce’s proven courage to say and do what morality, justice and decency require, that GAJE calls the minister’s attention to a report released this week by Cardus, the independent think tank. Called, Exploring Alberta’s Independent School Landscape: Diversity, Growth, Trends, the report provides a panoramic view of Alberta’s 180 independent schools, serving more than 40,000 students.
The authors of the report, David Hunt and Joanna Dejong, provide an in-depth view of the state of the independent school sector in Alberta from a lens that opens onto the province’s educational outcomes and pluralistic nature of the overall educational system. Among their conclusions the authors strongly recommend that “the Alberta government should continue to encourage the presence of meaningful pluralism by supporting new and existing independent schools that meet requirements, so that families have access to options that best fit their education needs.”
Along with the entire independent school sector across the country, enrollment in Alberta’s independent schools continues to increase.
Accredited independent schools in Alberta receive 70 per cent of the equivalent operating cost per pupil for public schools for operating costs only. This does not include any allocation for the capital costs of independent schools. Thus, in effect the overall contribution to independent schools is actually less 70 per cent of the cost of maintaining such schools.
A report written in 2019 by Mark Milke and Paige T. MacPherson of Parents for Choice in Education and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, concluded that “Education choice in Alberta saves taxpayers money. Over the eight years analyzed in this report, the existence of education options outside of government schools in Alberta saved taxpayers over $1.9 billion over a period of 8 years.
Enrollment in Ontario’s independent schools has also grown. In 2019-20 StatCan data showed that more than 153,291 students were enrolled in the sector.
If funding for educational diversity is successful in Alberta – educationally and financially – it stands to reason that it would be successful in Ontario as well.
We therefore beseech the Government of Ontario to end its unfair educational funding policies. The minister clearly understands that the best way the Jewish community can stand against the ongoing effusions of hatred and intimidation toward it, is by maintaining and strengthening its inner communal structures. He also knows the most effective and important means for our community to do so, is through a perpetually secure educational system.
In the current worrisome and fear-creating social climate – even here in Ontario – it is patently unfair that only one religion should receive public funds for the education of its children. This is especially the case and made more urgently so, when one of the minority religious groups is being targeted and vilified with daily increasing vigour and malevolence.
And so, we ask the minister to “possess the moral courage to do what is right even if it is not easy.” Please make educational funding fair for all communities. This uneasy hour in our history should call upon your conscience to do so.
The Cardus report can be found at:
•••
June 11, 2024 has been set for Ontario’s appeal of the 46-page decision by Judge Eugenia Papageorgiou denying the province’s request to dismiss GAJE’s application for fairness in educational funding before it has actually been argued in court. If the appeal fails, the application proceeds to a hearing on its merits. If the appeal succeeds, GAJE will appeal.
If you wish to contribute to GAJE’s lawsuit, please click here.
For further information, please contact Israel Mida at: imida1818@gmail.com
Charitable receipts for donations for income tax purposes will be issued by Mizrachi Canada. Your donations will be used for the sole purpose of underwriting the costs of the lawsuit.
•••
Shabbat shalom. Chag Pesach Samayach. Am Yisrael Chai.
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education (GAJE)
April 26, 2024
Grassroots for Affordable Jewish Education 