Times Colonist: 2008 February 25
If the B.C. Ministry of Education is wondering why the auditor general cannot find evidence of progress on the government’s literacy goal, it should look to Ontario.
The Ontario Ministry of Education has just announced it will spend $40 million over the next four years to increase staffing in school libraries across that province. This is in addition to a huge grant announced last year to purchase new books and databases.
Ontario has learned that its earlier failure to fund school library programs was actually expensive. It cost in terms of literacy rates and it cost a generation of Ontario’s children access to vibrant, important, exciting, inspiring reading experiences. Ontario has learned that computer labs are no replacement for a current, robust school library collection staffed by an informed, passionate teacher-librarian.
When will our Ministry of Education wake up to the news?
Because the money is coming directly from Ontario’s education ministry, school districts are not being forced, as ours are, into Solomon’s choices that pit school music programs against literacy goals and shop equipment against textbooks.
This level of dedicated funding would translate into $177,500 per year for the Greater Victoria School District. It would increase elementary teacher-librarian time from the current paltry one day a week to a day and a half.
The B.C. government sits on a $4.1 billion surplus. It’s time to loosen the purse strings for the good of our children.
Karen Lindsay, Saanich
