Administration costs already low in B.C. schools: report

B.C. school districts spend one-third less on administration than other  provinces, a report for the B.C. Association of School Business Officials found.
The same report says Statistics Canada reports that B.C. has the lowest per pupil district administration cost in Canada. But despite these low administrative costs, B.C. school boards are tasked with finding $25 million in “administrative savings,” this year, after a similar call for $29 million to be cut last year.
The NDP’s education critic Rob Fleming raised the issue in the legislature on Wednesday,
“Sadly, the Liberals’ reward for school district efficiency is having the Premier say there’s low-hanging fruit everywhere in the school district and ordering cuts of $54 million for administrative spending. This is on top of downloaded costs, over the last decade, of $190 million,”  Fleming said. “…[T]rying to squeeze more blood from this stone is the reason why school boards across British Columbia right now are being forced to consider firing teachers and closing schools in neighbourhoods and communities in B.C.”
Education Minister Mike  Bernier responded by saying that the government raised the education budget by $110 million in its latest budget and that B.C. has one of the best education systems in the world.
The report says B.C. spends $306.95 per pupil on district administration, while Alberta spends $395.47, Manitoba spends $402.58 and Saskatchewan spends $500.52. It says school districts in B.C. spend about 6.67 per cent of total revenue on administration, while the number is about 10.7 per cent in American school districts.

tsherlock@vancouversun.com