H Supervisor: Dr. C. E. Hodgkinson
ABSTRACT
While considerable attention h a s been paid to the supposed qualitative outcom es of changes in level of financial support for public school education, comparatively little is known about the effects of funding changes on th e provision of educational services. An
exam ination of the levels of governm ent expenditure on education in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchew an and M anitoba from 1976 to
1987 reveals a strong relationship between th e state of th e provincial economy and levels of financial support. During th is period funding levels increased and decreased in all the provinces, w ith B ritish Columbia experiencing the largest and m ost frequent fluctuations. Indices were developed for th is stu d y to m easure th e changes in levels of educational services provided. These changes were found to be closely associated with funding levels.
Analysis of d ata obtained from a sample of 20 British Columbia school districts revealed a sim ilar p attern a t the district level. In
addition, the m ix of services w as studied, and significant changes were evident in the percentage of teachers employed in in stru ctio n al as opposed to adm inistrative and su p p o rt positions. These changes were associated with changes in levels of financial support.
Regression analysis w as used to te st the resulting hypotheses, and produced largely inconclusive results.
This study concludes th a t although th e level an d mix of educational services provided in w estern C anada varied a s funding levels increased and decreased over th e period studied, in th e m ain school system s proved sufficiently resilient to m aintain or even to increase the levels of service they ordinarily provided w ithout dram atically altering th e mix of instructional and support staff.
Exam iners'
Dr. C. E. Hodgkinsop^Supervisor (Departm ent of Com m unication and Social Foundmions)
Dr. T. Fleming, D epartm & ital Member (Departm ent of Com m unication an d Social Foundations)
Dr. J . A. Schofield^Q utside Member (Departm ent of Economics)
t>r. J^ C tjtt, O utside Member (School of Public Administration)
Mr. J . R. Fleming, Additional Member (Ministry of Education)
iv Tahle of Contents A b stract...ii Table of C o n ten ts... iv List of T ab les...viii List of F ig u res...ix
A cknow ledgm ents...xi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION... ... 1
P u rp o se ...4
Significance...5
A d m in istratio n ... 5
R e se a rc h ...6
A ssum ptions, lim itations and delim itations... 7
A ssum ptions ... 7
L im itations... 8
Delimitations... 9
Definition of te rm s ...9
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW...11
Economic conditions and educational change...11
Organizational grow th... 14
Organizational ch a n g e ... 15
Organizational domain... 15
Field th e o ry ...15
Response to environmental change...18
Reaction to crisis and threatening change... 2 0 R esearch specific to dom ain changes and funding...22
Funding changes in California... 23
Funding changes in Missouri...2 3 Funding changes in British Columbia...2 4 F unding changes in New Y ork...2 5 Recent tren d s in educational finance... 2 7 Agenda for education finance rese arch ... 3 0 School finance and education reform ... 28 Equity and efficiency... 3 2
Summary... 35
CHAPTER THREE: FINANCIAL, EDUCATIONAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC CONTEXT... 3 6 E ducation finance in the w estern provinces... 3 6 Funding changes... 4 0 Enrolment...4 0 Economic growth...42 Funding per s tu d e n t... 42 T e a c h e rs ... 45 Teacher salaries...4 7 Summary...47
CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND DESIGN 49 C onceptual fram ew ork... 49
T erm inology...51
Levels of service... 53
Service Mix Index (SMI)... 53
Other terms ... 55 R esearch q u e s tio n s... 56 D esign... 58 M acro-analysis... 58 Micro-analysis...59 Sample... 6 0 Sam pling p ro c ed u re... 61
Analysis of d a ta ... 61
V ariation in mix of services...6 4 H y p o th eses... 66 Enrolment... 6 6 W ealth... 6 7 Special E d u catio n ... 67 D ispersion...68 Static or dynamic re sp o n se ...68 Regression analysis...6 9
vi
CHAPTER FIVE: RESULTS... 71
M acro-analysis... 71
R esearch Q uestion 1... ... 71
British Colum bia... 7 2 A lb erta...7 4 S askatchew an... ...7 6 M anitoba... ... 78
Provincial between-group correlation... 80
Summary...8 0 Research Q uestions 2 and 3 ...81
British Colum bia...81
A lb erta... ...83 S askatchew an ... 83 M anitoba... 83 Summary...83 R esearch Q uestion 4 ... 8 4 R esearch Q uestion 5 ... 8 6 Staffing Units and funding fluctuations ... 8 6 Staffing Units Per Pupil and funding flu ctu atio n s 9 0 Summary...93
Micro-anafysis...9 4 R esearch Q uestion 6 ... 9 4 Staffing U n its... 9 5 Staffing Units Per Pupil...9 5 Research Q uestion 7 ... 9 8 Research Question 8 ... 100
Summary...105
CHAPTER SIX: DISCUSSION... ... 107
M acro-analysis... 107
Gross Domestic Product and funding levels...107
Fluctuations in funding levels... 116
Staffing U nits and funding ch an g es...119
Staffing U nits Per Pupil and funding changes... 124
SU and SUPP as indices of levels of service ...12 5 Micro-anafysis...127
Staffing U n its ,... 127
Staffing U nits Per Pupil... 128
Funding changes and mix of services... 128
Variations in response to funding change... 131
CHAPTER SEVEN: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS...135
Summary... 135
B ackground and context of stu d y ...135
Methodology...136 M acro-analysis re su lts ... 137 Micro-analysis results...139 Conclusions...141 R eco m m en d atio n s... 146 R e fe re n c e s... 148 Appendix A ...159
Macro-analysis: data sources... 159
M acro-analysis: provincial d a ta ... 162
Appendix B ... 166
Micro-analysis: published d a ta so u rce s...166
Micro-analysis: other data so u rce... 168
Micro-analysis: data for regression analysis... 169
M icro-analysis: changes in percentage of instructional positions...174
vi n
List of Tables
Table 1: British Columbia School Districts by Enrolment,
Showing Method of Determining Stratified Sam ple 6 2
Table 2: Stratified Random Sample of 20 British Columbia
School D istricts... 63
Table 3: Independent Variables for Regression E quations... 70
Table 4: Pearson Correlation Coefficients Between Gross Domestic Product and Provincial Government
Expenditure on Education 1976-1987...8 0
Table 5: Frequency and Magnitude of A nnual Percentage
Changes in Funding Levels (Constant 1976 Dollars)... 85
Table 6: Years in Which Provincial Funding Levels Varied
Directly With Staffing U nits (+), Regardless of Sign... 87
Table 7: Responses to Increases and Decreases in Funding, M easured by Gross and Average Changes in
Percentage Instructional Positions... 9 9
Table 8: Regression Results: Changes in Percentage
Instructional Positions... 101
Table 9: Pearson Correlation Coefficients Between
List of Figures
Figure 1: Forces acting on a school system ... 17
Figure 2: FTE enrolm ent 1976 - 1987... 4 1
Figure 3: G ross p ro v in cial governm ent expenditure
per FTE pupil in current dollars, 1976 - 1987...4 4
Figure 4: FTE teachers by province 1976 - 19 8 7...4 6
Figure 5: A verage teacher salaries in current dollars
1976 - 1987 4 8
Figure 6: H ypothetical effect of a funding cut on (a> level of educational services only, and (b) both level
and mix of educational services 5 2
Figure 7: British Columbia: Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross Provincial Funding for education (GPF), and Consum er Price Index (CPI), 1976 - 1987.
(1976 = 100) 7 3
Figure 8: Alberta: Gross Dom estic Product (GDP),
Gross Provincial Funding for education (GPF), and Consum er Price Index (CPI), 1976 - 1987.
(1976 = 100) 7 5
Figure 9: Saskatchew an: Gross Dom estic Product (GDP), Gross Provincial Funding for education (GPF), and Consum er Price Index (CPI), 1976 - 1987.
X
Figure 10: M anitoba: Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross Provincial Funding for education (GPF), and Consum er Price Index (CPI), 1976 - 1987.
(1976 = 100)... 7 9
Figure 11: Provincial G overnm ent funding for education.
(Constant 1976 dollars x 1,000,000) 8 2
Figure 12: Changes in num ber of Staffing Units by
Province, 1976 - 19 8 7 8 9
Figure 13: Changes in num ber of Staffing U nits Per
Pupil by Province, 1976 - 1987. 9 1
Figure 14: Average num ber o f Staffing Units in a sam ple
of British C olum bia school districts 1976 - 1987 9 6
Figure 15: Average num ber of Staffing U nits Per Pupil in a sam ple o f British Colum bia school districts
1976 -1 9 7 8 9 7
Figure 16: FTE teachers as a percentage of Staffing Units
The au th o r would like to acknowledge th e influence and invaluable assistance of Christopher Hodgkinson, a scholar and a gentlem an, who took over as Supervisor of this dissertation for the final hectic m onths. Peter Murphy. Supervisor until he went on leave, w as a fund of ideas and enthusiasm ; Jo h n Schofield provided willing and m eticulous advice on the econometric analysis, and the other m em bers of th e Committee, Thomas Fleming, J a e k Fleming and Jim Cutt, made m any valuable and helpful suggestions, as did Eugene Ratsoy, the External Examiner. Eugene Deen assisted m ost capably with the statistical analysis.
The au th o r also owes a considerable debt of gratitude to
colleagues in the Faculty of Education, especially Peter Evans, for their support, encouragem ent and consistent willingness to help.
Finally, it m u st be em phasized th a t w ithout the patience and su p p o rt of the au th o r's family this project would never have been possible.
1
Chapter 1 Introduction
Since the 1960s significant changes have occurred in funding levels for public school education. Increases in funding resulted from four m ajor c uses: (a) deliberate policy a t all levels of governm ent as more money became available and public perception of the
shortcom ings of public schooling increased, (b) dem ands for an expansion of the curriculum to address concerns with the
handicapped, minority groups and the social role of schools, t~j increases in teachers' salaries and benefits, and (d) declining
enrolm ent, which m eant (at least in the short term) th a t additional funds were available on a per pupil basis. Contemporaneously,
decreases in funding were triggered by one or more of the following: the p o st-1971 accountability movement, economic recession, fiscal crisis, tax-payer concern over rising costs, governm ent policy
reflecting the public perception th a t increased funding had n o t in fact 'improved' education, and, finally, long term effects of declining
enrolm ent. These internal and external p ressu res affected the
funding, the organization, and the operation of the provincial and local public school system s.
This rise and fall in the levels of funding, although differing in degree from province to province, could be observed in W estern
C anada during th e 1970s and 1980s and was m ost apparent in British Columbia. The British Columbia economy, with its heavy reliance on prim ary industries, w as among the first to feel the effects of recession in the early 1980s, and the consequent government policy of
restraining public spending stim ulated considerable public concern about levels of education funding. Since the m id-1980s funding levels have increased as the economy has become more buoyant and both provincial an d local governments have been willing and able to spend more on education.
W hen funding cu ts occur in public sector organizations there is likely to be a n expression of general dismay , usually coupled with dire predictions ab o u t the anticipated long-term consequences. Often, little atten tio n is paid to the actual changes except in global term s such a s the percentage differences, the actual dollar figures or the num ber of staff who might be affected by lay-offs. The sam e statistics can be (and often are) m anipulated to present a case for greater or less financial support.
Research and other studies have been undertaken identifying the im pact of funding cuts on public school education in general term s such as num bers of teachers, average class size and pupil-teacher ratios. Sometimes these investigations have been carried out to provide supporting evidence tor claims of reduced educational
3
effectiveness (e.g. Jacobson and Kuehn, 1986, and Kilian, 1985) and comparatively little attention har- been paid to w hat happens w hen funding increases. Though these statistics can provide a general
picture of the situation, specific derails or m eanings are overlooked or confused. Changes in resource levels affect the organization of school system s in more subtle ways than can be understood by the
exam ination of raw d ata on the num ber of teachers or dollars per stu d en t. For instance, it is unclear how allocations for personnel change when funding levels vary.
The proportion of classroom teachers to district adm inistrators, school adm inistrators and support personnel may rem ain the same, or it m ay change w hen funding fluctuates. W hat previous research h as been u ndertaken in this area suggests th at proportions do change, b u t again w hether such changes are tem porary or perm anent and planned or unplanned is unclear. Class size does tend to vary with funding levels, but, given the method of calculating pupil-teacher ratios, the relative im portance attached to the m aintenance of non-teaching positions is going to affect the num ber of stu d en ts in a n average class. It is necessary to have a clearer understanding of w hat actually
happens to schooi system organization when funding levels change if political, adm inistrative, and educational decisions are to be fully inform ed.
A prelim inary review of public school funding policies w ithin the four w estern C anadian provinces indicated th a t each of these
provinces experienced upw ard and downward changes in economic conditions, b u t a t different tim es. British Columbia, with its reliance on prim ary in d u stries and the American m arketplace, was the first w estern province to experience the adverse effects of a recession th a t w as international in scope in 1982. Alberta did not experience these
problem s u n til a few years later, as the petroleum -based economy continued to be strong until the collapse of international oil prices. S askatchew an is still struggling to climb out of a recession, and the p a tte rn in M anitoba is different again. These fluctuations in the economic fortunes of th e four provinces had differing degrees of
im pact on the funding of education, with British Columbia showing the m ost dram atic changes (Statistics Canada, 1976-1987: see Appendix A for details).
Purpose
The prim ary purpose of this inquiry was to examine the effect which fluctuations in funding from 1976 to 1987 had on the
educational services provided by public school system s in the
Provinces of B ritish Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchew an and Manitoba. A secondary purpose ’vas to analyze the n ature and scope of the changes which occurred in the British Columbia’s public school system. A final purpose w as to consider recom m endations for improving some
5
aspects of educational policy-making, procedures and practices based on the analysis of changes in provincial school system s resulting from funding changes.
Significance
A dm inistration. 'The m ajor problems in education finance
experienced by C anadian provinces are related ^o lim itations on financial resources available for education and other public services' (Council of M inisters of Education, Canada, 1985:8), and, th u s, there is a need for unbiased clarification of w hat exactly are the organizational consequences of fluctuations in funding levels.
Evidence suggests th a t Alberta is beginning to find itself in a sim ilar situation to th a t experienced by British Columbia eight years ago a s shown by the recent debate in Alberta over the possible removal of the school boards' rights to tax non-residential property. Specific knowledge of school districts' responses to fluctuations in funding in British Columbia could be of great value to adm inistrators in other provinces.
At the national level there is increased pressu re on the Federal Government to provide assistan ce to the Provinces for the financing of education where the dem and for services has been created by a federal policy. There is a public perception th a t the Federal Government h a s
training initiatives, and public health projects, while at the sam e time there is great pressure to decrease the Federal deficit. F urther, the im pact of future court rulings on m atters arising from the Charter o f Rights and Freedoms as it affects educational issues such as language rights, minorities, m ulticulturalism and m ainstream ing is a m atter of conjecture. It is certain, however, th a t there will be an increasing need for detailed inform ation on the consequences of funding changes or reallocations.
R esearch. The need for further information in this area h a s
been identified by other researchers. Choy notes th a t 'further
research on dom ain changes in response to budget cuts and research on th e im pact of dom ain changes on the quality of education is
needed' (1979:202). She reinforces this point in h er later study: The analysis presented here suggests th a t organizational characteristics are im portant intervening variables in the relationships between resources and o u tp u ts. Research ... is therefore needed to provide the
inform ation needed to cope with decline’ (Choy, 1980:50). Anderson and M ark (1983) claim th a t 'educators need to docum ent the benefits being derived from increased levels of adm inistrative support services in order to prevent their loss as further budget restrain ts are
7
The preceding com m ents dem onstrate the im portance of a clearer understanding of w hat Choy calls th e ’intervening variables'. If researchers are to encounter greater success in th e ir attem pts to find relationships between educational in p u ts and outcomes, a ta sk which has so far produced results which are a t best am biguous (Averech, Carroll, Donaldson, Kiesling and Pincus, 1974; H anushek, 1981, 1986) they need a stepping stone which gets them a t least p a rt of the way across the stream . This research is intended am ong other tilings to help provide th a t stepping stone, by presenting specific inform ation about the im pact of funding changes on the proportional allocation of staff to instructional, adm instrative and support positions. It is
suggested th a t this allocation of staff, reflecting as it does the
priorities of decision m akers, m ay well be a more im portant factor in determ ining educational outcom es th a n more com mon prim ary in p u t m easures such as the level of funding or the num ber of teachers.
Assumptions, lim itations and delim itations Assumptions
1. The econometric techniques employed are appropriate for the analysis conducted.
2. The value of any commodity or service is reflected in m arket prices.
3. The indices developed are valid in stru m e n ts for com parison. 4. The d ata published by S tatistics C anada and the British
Columbia M inistry of Education are as accurate and reliable as any obtainable, and as consistently defined.
5. W here data reporting techniques have changed over time, the resulting differences are not so great as to seriously im pair
comparability.
Limitations
1. In British Columbia the m ethods of reporting d ata changed with th e introduction of the Fiscal Framework in 1982. D ata from earlier years have been adjusted to correspond as closely as possible to the figures reported after th a t date.
2. Where it was felt th a t the recalculation of d a ta from other sources would n o t be sufficiently com parable (as w ith the figures for special education in the 1970s), d ata for those years have been om itted.
3. In 1985, the British Columbia Ministry of E ducation adjusted the school financial year from the calendar year (Jan u ary to December) to th e academ ic year (July to June). The six-m onth transition period (January 1 to J u n e 30 1985) h as been ignored a s a separate budget unit.
4. D ata reported by Statistics C anada som etim es differ from those reported by the British Columbia Ministry of Education. In no case have conclusions been drawn based on a com parison of d ata from both Federal and Provincial sources.
1. This study covers the period 1976 to 1987.
2. The macro-analysis is limited to the four w estern C anadian provinces: British Columbia. Alberta, Saskatchew an and Manitoba.
3. The micro-analysis is limited to a stratified random sam ple of 20 British Columbia school districts.
D efinition of term s
In the course of the study, essential definitions will be given in detail, b u t th e following working definitions reflect the scope of the study by explaining kej' concepts.
E nrolm ent. Full-time equivalent (FTE) stu d e n ts enrolled in public schools on Septem ber 30.
Teacher. A person holding a teaching certificate and employed by a public school district.
Instructional personnel. Certified teachers engaged in classroom instruction, m easured by FTE.
Adm inistrative and support personnel. Certified teachers employ *d by a school district b u t not engaged in classroom instruction, m easured by FTE.
C u rren t dollars. Funding or expenditure expressed in cu rre n t values.
C onstant or real dollars. Funding or expenditure adjusted for inflation using the C anadian Consum er Price Index (CPI) a s reported
by Statistics Canada.
Pupil-Teacher Ratio fPTRl. The ratio of FTE stu d en ts to FTE teachers.
G ross Domestic Product (GDP). Provincial Gross Domestic Product per capita, indexed from 1976 as a base year.
Staffing Units fSU). In the macro-analysis, gross provincial
governm ent expenditure on public school education divided by average teacher salary. In the micro-analysis, funds allotted for public school instruction divided by average teacher salary. (The latter is a better indicator, b u t th e d a ta available are not consistent enough to allow inter-provincial com parisons because of differences in definition.)
Staffing U nits Per Pupil (SUPP). SU divided by FTE enrolment. Service Mix Index (SMI). The proportion of Instructional Personnel to Adm inistrative and Support Personnel, m easured by instructional positions as a percentage of total positions (%IP).
O rganizational Domain. The services provided, the population served, and the technology used by any organization.
11
Chapter 2 literatu re Review
This chapter exam ines the im portance of considering th e overall economic picture in respect to education funding. It also reviews some theoretical aspects of organizations, including growth,
organizational dom ain and responses to environm ental change, w ith p articular reference to education, exam ines some recent research on the specific reaction of school system s to variations in resource levels and finally looks a t some cu rren t tren d s in the jo u rn al literature
pertaining to education finance.
Econom ic Conditions and Educational Change
Economic conditions provide the framework w ithin w hich governm ents are compelled to operate w hen allocating funds. Schick (1988) h a s pointed o u t th a t during periods of economic growth
governm ents can alter priorities 'w ithout shifting resources from one budget area b> blowing program s to develop at different rates' (p.527). In tim es of fiscal stress, however, a different picture emerges. In his analyses of macro- and m icro-budgetary adaptations to fiscal stress Schick (1986, 1988) describes m acro budgeting as 'the process of constraining total expenditure' (1988, :523), and micro budgeting as 'the process of applying spending lim its to particular program s and decisions' (1988:523). He draw s a distinction between 'claim ants'
seeking more funds a s they engage in micro budgeting, and
'conservers' whose role is to lim it spending through m acro budgeting, and notes th a t in decline ’priorities cannot be rearranged through indirect m eans' (1988:527). Although these descriptions are not specifically intended to apply to expenditure on education, they are clearly pertinent to th is study.
W ard (1988) claim s th a t ’education policy and school finance are dependent variables affected by events, forces and trends in the larger social, political and economic environment' (p. 181). Ratsoy and
R ichards (1980) have noted th a t 'since education requires resources, affects earnings and is financed o u t of income, it is understandable th a t decisions affecting the financial support of education m ust be considered in respect of the entire economic system ' (p. 28). M easures of national (and regional) wealth and economic growth should be 'of central im portance to educators and others who m ake decisions concerning allocation of funds to education' (p. 17).
If we accept a basic assum ption about the economic system th a t the value of any commodity or service is reflected in m arket prices, the next step in any analysis is to select an appropriate u n it of m easurem ent which h a s 'a degree of generality to enable cross -sectional an d longitudinal com parisons to be made' (Ratsoy &
1 3
services produced (and hence income created) in any period is the G ross Domestic Product (GDP). To standardize for population trends th is m ay be expressed as GDP per capita (Departm ent of Finance, Canada, 1988).
It is also im portant to take inflation into account by deflating c u rren t dollars to 'real' or 'constant' dollars to perm it com parability over time and to show differences between ap p aren t and actu al figures (Ratsoy & Richards, 1980:15). For instance, Krueger (1988) h as
pointed o u t th a t the 2% increase in education funding announced recently by the Alberta government is actually a n et decrease in real dollars (p. 21).
The school system , like any organization, does n o t exist in a vacuum b u t w ithin an encom passing environm ent (Hodgkinson, 1978) w hich affects its operation (Campbell, Fleming, Newell and Bennion,
1987; Getzels, G uba and Thelen, 1960; Thomas, 1971). Changes in the environm ent, economic or otherwise, stim ulate either a static or dynam ic reaction. A static reaction attem pts to m aintain the sta tu s quo, while a dynamic reaction involves 'a rearrangem ent of the internal sub-system s of th e organization or ... a change in its goals in order to ad ju st to changing circum stances in its external environm ent' (Owens, 1987:73), These reactions may also be described as 'no
1979).
Organizational Growth
Organizations p ursue the twin m etavalues of m aintenance and growth (Hodgkinson, 1978); these 'conservation' values act as
incentives for individual paT*ticipation (Simon. 1976), even though they m ay ultim ately be counter productive in term s of efficiency and effectiveness (Barnard, 1979). It h as also been claimed (Weber, 1946) th a t as organizations increase in size there is a tendency for the
adm inistrative com ponent to increase more rapidly th a n the line component, although this view h as been challenged (Blau, 1972). In an educational environm ent, however, there is seme evidence to suggest th a t Weber's claim is correct, even though overall costs
increase because of the higher salaries paid to adm inistrators (Lesser, 1979).
Most of the early literature dealing with organizational change looked on growth as a n atu ral and desirable state of affairs. Decline, retrenchem ent and restrain t were to be eschewed as signs of failure. Only com paratively recently have economic an d demographic
constraints forced educational adm inistrators to look seriously a t these phenom ena (Glassberg, 1978; Levine, 1978).
1 5
Organizational rh in g e
Organizational rem a in
Leviae and White (1961) introduced the concept of or . r r: at;<jral domain with reference to health agencies, and
i hom psor (1967) pointed o u t its usefulness in analyzing all types of complex organizations (Choy, 1979). By organizational dom ain is m eant the services provided, the population served and the
technology used. School system s are limited in the changes they can make: the basic technology of instruction (one teacher to a classroom) is to all intents and purposes fixed, and public schools have virtually no control over the size of the population they serve. 'Domain changes therefore have to be limited to changes in th e services provided (the level, the mix, or both) and in certain aspects of now they are
provided' (Choy, 1979:22).
Field Theory
Kurt Lewin's early work on the dynamic theory of personality and child behaviour (1935) developed the concepts of forces acting on an individual, and led to an extension of this idea to group behaviour (Lewin and Grabbe, 1945) and to social change (Lewin, 1947a, 1947b, 1951, 1953). Its usefulness in the analysis of social system s h a s been noted by w riters on educational change (e.g. Beane, 1985; Bennis, Benne and Chin, 1985; Berg and Ostergren, 1977; Ingram and M cIntosh 1976; Jen k in s, 1962; Owens, 1987).
Lewin (1935) stressed th e im portance of the consideration of the total situation, and explained th a t forces are defined by three properties: direction, strength and point of application. He originally saw th e opposition of approximately equally strong field forces as productive of conflict, b u t this idea h as been developed to include the physical concept of any body being held in position by
counterbalancing sets of forces (Ingram & McIntosh, 1976). This in tu rn leads to the suggestion th a t for any change to take place the system m u st be 'unfrozen' so th a t relationships m ay be reordered in a different w ay and th en refrozen (Lewin, 1951, 1953; Owens, 1987).
The forces acting to change the system include the state of the provincial economy, factors connected with enrolm ent decline,
concerns over rising costs, actual changes in funding levels and an increased em phasis on accountability. Acting against these in an effort to m aintain th e system are the forces of traditional growth and
established practices, the physical lim itations of schools and
classroom s, p ressu res from teachers acting either o u t of professional concerns or those related to job security, and public expectations and
1 7
FORCES TO MAINTAIN SYSTEM
Tradition Physical T eachers T ru stees Public
Limitations Expectations
Econom y E nrolm ent Cost Funding Accountability Decline Concerns Change
FORCES TO CHANGE SYSTEM
dem ands, often reflected in th e actions of school trustees. There are, of course, other forces a t work, b u t these seem m ost relevant to the present investigation. It is also w orth noting th a t Lewin suggested th a t th e m ost desirable way to introduce change is by reducing or removing forces. The next m ost desirable is to change the direction of th e forces. The le ast desirable method is to strengthen or add forces, as this increases pressure and tension (Ingram and McIntosh,
1976). Unfortunately, m ost of the forces for change identified above fall into the la st category.
R esponse to Environm ental Change
Organizations, educational or otherwise, have to be responsive to environm ental change, particularly if this change is specifically
financial. Choy (1979, 1980) concludes from her review of the
literature th a t organizations have two options, 'no change' or 'change', for b o th of which a case can be made. No change entails an across-the -board response, su ch as a percentage cu t in funding to all
departm ents. An example of th is w as the British Columbia
government's form ula-based budget cu ts in 1982, when all school districts were faced w ith a fixed percentage cu t in their proposed budgets, regardless of how thrifty or extravagant their claims were (Fleming and Anderson, 1984). No change may be selected for various reasons, such a s the cost of the search for new alternatives, limited capabilities of decision-m akers or, as was the case in the example
1 9
cited, lack of specific and relevant information. In addition th e high cost of changes in term s of su n k costs, and individual resistance to change may help to m aintain the status quo (Choy, 1979). All things being equal, no change will be chosen over change (March and Simon,
1958).
On th e other hand, a case can be m ade for change: budget cuts may act as a stim ulus to adm inistrators to re-exam ine priorities, particularly with respect to ancillary services; legal co n strain ts may m ake dom ain changes essential to retain m andated services; and changes in organization size may require stru ctu ra l change (Choy,
1979). To re tu rn to Lewin's (1945) terminology, it will depend on the attrib u tes of the constellation of forces.
M uch of the eadier literature on change in educational and other social organizations tended to focus on planned change (e.g. Bennis,
1966; Bennis, Benne and Chin, 1969; Carlson, 1965; Havelock, 1973; Miles, 1964). It is also interesting to note the publication dates,
w hich reflect the concern of educators with growth during a period of climbing enrolm ent, educational innovation an d public willingness to spend more on schools. However, more recent research an d writing have concentrated on organizational responses to falling enrolm ent, crises, decline, retrenchm ent and restra in t - term s w hich were alm ost unheard of in the euphoria of growth an d expansion.
R eaction to Crisis and Threatening Change
Fink, Bean and Taddeo (1971) attem pted to expand the
characteristics of a n individual's reaction to crisis to the organizational level by identifying four stages: (1) shock, w hen the th rea t is
perceived; (2) defensive retreat, when m aintenance of the system to guarantee survival is param ount; (3) acknowledgement, w hen
problems are examined rationally and solutions sought; and (4) adaptation an d change. Although the model h as been challenged because of its theoretical base (Solomon and Paris, 1971), it does display sim ilarities to Lewin's (1951, 1953) concepts of change as a three-stage process of unfreezing, change, and refreezing. Aspects of this theory are also supported by Cibulka (1987), whose stu d y of ten u rb a n school system s in th e United States showed th a t denial w as the first response p attern to enrolm ent declines in every school system . 'Its distinguishing hallm ark was to assum e th a t there was no problem' (p. 16), and th is denial persisted until revenue shortages began to occur. Even then school officials 'behaved as though it were an unim portant, even tem porary development, which dem anded no
planned, su stain ed and dram atic response’ (p. 17). It would seem th at in tim es of crisis, decision-m aking ability is im paired (Holsti, 1971).
Much research on change in the organizational domain of schools h as concentrated on the outcomes of su ch change as defined by some m easure of stu d en t achievement. (See especially m ajor
21
reviews by Averech, Carroll, Donaldson, Kiesling and Pincus (1974) H anushek (1981, 1986), and Glass, Cahan, Sm ith and Filby (1982),) Two p articu lar factors, declining enrolm ent and fiscal restraint,
encouraged w riters and researchers to try to docum ent the negative im pact of reduced funding (for British Columbia examples see Tagg (1983), Kilian (1985), Coleman (1986) and Jecobson and Kuehn (1986)). This is a rem arkably difficult ta sk (Hanushek, 1986; Skolnik, 1986, 1987), b u t represents the b u lk of recent C anadian writing on the im pact of budgetary restrain t on various aspects of the school system (e.g. Eeles and Stevens, 1982; Fleming, 1985;
Jefferson, 1987; Richards, 1980; Steer, 1982; Tagg, 1983) and post -secondary education (e.g. Decore and Pannu, 1986; Dennison, 1985, 1987).
The issue of declining enrolm ent which in C anada was m uch addressed prior tc th e economic recession of th e early 1980's (e.g. C anadian T eachers’ Federation, 1978; Husby and Riffell, 1979; Kerwin,
1978; Rideout and others, 1977; Schwartz and McGowan, 1977) had, paradoxically, m ore to do with growth th a n organizational decline. Unless funding is tied very specifically to enrolm ent, fewer stu d en ts m ean lower pupil-teacher ratios, with more stair resources available either to reduce class size or to increase adm inistrative and su p p o rt positions (Anderson and Mark, 1983). Ultimately, however, declining enrolm ent is likely to lead to budget cu ts and downsizing (Cibulka,
1987; G anns, G uthrie and Pierce, 1987; G uthrie, 1980; Lawton, 1987).
This decline could also be viewed positively. C uban (1979) challenged researchers to break out of the intellectual straight-jacket in w hich they saw shrinking enrolm ent and school closures as totally negative. This attitude, he claimed, w as not simply making a virtue o u t of necessity (as researchers had generally preferred growth to decline), b u t a realization th a t this approach m ight hinder research on enrolm ent decline, and th u s prevent the developm ent of practical suggestions for educational policy m akers. Behn (1983) looked on enrolm ent decline a s a 'managerial opportunity’, w ith lay-offs
em phasizing th e need for teacher assessm en t to establish criteria. If education is to provide education for stu d e n ts ra th e r th a n employment for teachers, th en evaluation provides a more equitable criterion than seniority w hen lay-offs m u st take place. Behn also suggested th a t retren ch m en t needs more centralized decision-m aking, and th a t is w hy adm inistrative costs rise in a period of enrolm ent decline. There ap p ears to be little (if any) empirical evidence to su p p o rt this.
Research Specific to Domain Changes and Funding
There have been several recent studies w hich address this question, of w hich four will be examined here. They deal with both C anada and the United States, and docum ent the results of funding
2 3
cu ts brought about by taxpayer revolt, government policy, economic recession, or fiscal crisis.
Funding Changes in ffrHfhrnia
C atterall and Brizendine (1985) examined the im pact of
California’s Proposition 13 (which sharply reduced local tax revenue for public school education) on high school curricula. They found a 25% reduction in real resources available to school districts from
1978 to 1983. This resulted in reduction of teaching and other staff, restriction of salary growth, and trimming of budgets for m aterials and support services. There was a n increasing em phasis on basic skills, and a corresponding reduction in the availability of elective courses. Sum m er school program s were eliminated, and all districts reported reductions in num bers of counsellors and school psychologists. Their findings dem onstrated a rem arkable uniformity of response in the eight districts studied.
Fundlnf Changes in Missouri
A nderson and Mark (1983) looked at schools in St. Louis, Missouri, over a seven-year period, and found support for their hypothesis th a t declining enrolm ents are associated w ith increased resources allocated to adm inistration and adm inistrative support positions. They also found th a t reductions in budgets caused re -allocations to commence, starting with lay-offs of teachers and
moving to reductions in adm inistrative and support staff. They suggest th a t th is is because the am ounts spent on adm inistration may seem excessive in tim es of financial retrenchm ent, especially because there are no docum ented benefits from increased support personnel (p. 17). They categorize changes in enrolm ent per teacher, per support staff, per adm inistrator and per certificated staff, and claim th a t their findings are supported by figures from British Columbia from 1975 to
1982.
Funding Changes in British Columbia
Tagg (1983), in a n unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, examined the effect of governm ent-im posed fiscal restrain t on a ru ral British
Columbia school system by detailing changes which occurred in
W indermere. He claim s th a t his findings were in m any ways typical of other districts in B.C. He notes th a t the initial reaction to budget cuts was denial or the feeling th a t the problem was only temporary, th u s helping to confirm theories of Fink, Bean and Taddeo (1971) and Cibulka (1987) (see above). His findings indicate th a t initially
instructional positions and salaries were protected, with cuts evident in other areas su c h as office, supplies, m aintenance, school patrols and clerical time available. Buses were converted from gasoline to
propane, and jan ito rial efficiency improved. M easures of this so rt could and did re su lt in considerable cost-saving in m any districts; see, for example, C anadian Education Association (1986) and School
2 5
D istrict No. 62 (Sooke) (1986). Part-tim e teacher-librarians were laid off, b u t strong opposition from the local teachers' association helped protect instructors from lay-offs and salary cuts. The board
'stream lined its operations w ithout directly affecting stu d e n ts' (p.27). Tagg's stu d y does provide some useful information b u t is limited by the sh o rt period of time it covers, and (more seriously) by the au th o r's use of emotive language and political com mentary, w hich detracts from the academ ic credibility of the paper.
Funding Changes in New York
The m ost detailed and rigorous research is found in Choy's stu d ies of th e New York school system (1979, 1980a, 1980b). The
1975 fiscal crisis in New York City had a direct and immediate im pact on the resources available to the public schools, and precipitated the lay-off of 16,000 teachers. Choy, in h er first paper, examined
organizational dom ain changes in 94 public high schools resulting from two su b stan tia l budget cu ts in 1975-76 and 1976-77. The first budget cut led to a change in the mix of services: instruction and adm inistration and support were both cut, b u t proportionately greater cu ts were m ade in adm inistration and support. The second budget cu t led to further reductions in both, b u t no further significant change in the mix of services w as observed. The n et effect w as to bring about proportionately greater cuts in adm inistration and su p p o rt th a n in instruction.
Class stru ctu re w as also changed: average class size was
increased, and the num ber of subjects taken by stu d e n ts decreased. Following b o th cuts relatively more em phasis w as placed on increasing class size th a n on decreasing the num ber of subjects taken, b u t
considerable variation was observed between schools. Choy used regression analysis to examine the cause of the variation, and found th a t the change in the mix of services was significantly related to the pre-cut mix of services and the type of school (academic or vocational) following the first cut. Following the second cut, the change in mix of services w as significantly related to the same two variables, plus the stability of the school population and school size (Choy, 1979:3-4).
Following up on this research, Choy extended h er study (1980a, 1980b) to include d a ta concerned w ith m odest increases in funding in 1977-78 and 1978-79. She found th a t both instructional and
adm inistrative su p p o rt services were increased, b u t th a t the
proportion of resources devoted to each did not change from the post -cut position. The average num ber of subjects taken per stu d en t per day increased to alm ost the pre-cut level, and while m odest decreases in average class size were observed, the average size rem ained closer to the po st-cu t th a n pre-cut level. Again, considerable variation was observed between schools in their responses to changing resource levels (Choy, 1980b:3).
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R ecent Trends In Education Finance
It appears th a t the tendency of organizations, their
adm inistrators, and researchers into m atters pertaining to them is indeed to see growth a s essential. The enro’m ent decline and economic problem s of the 1970s and 1980s are behind us, and the organizational lessons to be learned from restrain t and retrenchm ent, with a few exceptions, seem to have been p u t on the shelf in the pious hope th a t they will n o t be needed again. Brown (1987) saw evidence of this in his study of the issues and priorities which superintendents considered m ost im portant. There appeared to be no substantial differences between th e responses given in good tim es or more difficult periods. In a n earlier (1985) article, however, he does suggest th a t lessons ought to be learned, and th a t alternative funding practices (such as school based managem ent) m ight profitably be explored. As this section dem onstrates, w riters and researchers have returned to familiar them es and explored a few new aspects of these them es.
A unique feature of the American public school system is the trem endous disparity in per-pupil spending between different
jurisdictions. H artm an (1988) used this disparity to help illum inate a topic of interest in the context of this study: the differences in
spending p attern s between rich and poor school districts. He suggests th a t the perception of a co st/q u ality relationship (even
though em pirical evidence for the relationship is a t b est ambiguous) follows th is pattern: educational expenditures - educational resources - educational program s - stu d e n t outcomes (p.438). Cost per stu d en t is the m ost common m easure of equity, and some school finance
system s have been declared unconstitutional on this basis. His study of 501 school districts in Pennsylvania w as designed 'to investigate the first link in the cost-quality chain' (p.440), th a t between expenditure an d resources. He categorized districts as high, middle or low
spenders, an d used Weighted Average Daily M embership (WADM) to represent stu d e n t num bers. Resources he defined as teachers, adm inistrators and coordinate services staff. His findings, not
unexpectedly, showed th a t higher spending districts p u t more money into personnel: there were more teachers, adm inistrators and
coordinate services staff per student, and more adm inistrators and coordinate services staff per teacher.
Higher spending districts provided more of their own funds through local taxation th a n lower spending districts, and although they sp e n t proportionately less on instruction (58.1% com pared with
61.3% in lower spending districts), they were spending far more in dollar term s ($3,657 com pared to $1,388). It should again be noted th a t inter-district disparities of this m agnitude simply do not occur in the C anadian provinces, and th u s although H artm an’s research
29
not be viewed as being generalizable to western Canada.
In addition, the use of WADM as a unit of m easurem ent has been challenged by Sederberg and Hendrix (1988). In their assessm en t of the use of WADM in Minnesota they found th a t
program m atic and functional district expenditures per weighted pupil u n it do n ot provide a reliable m atching of resource inputs with u n its of service and therefore should not be used to compare districts, trend analysis or policy research w ithout appropriate adjustm ent (1988:248).
The search for a cost/quality relationship continues as Childs and S hakeshaft note in their 1986 m eta-analysis of research into this question. They found that, based on the research studied, overall educational expenditures had little effect on stu d e n t achievement. This, they suggest, is perhaps due to the methodology of the studies,
and point, o u t th a t their m eta analysis does 'suggest a positive relationship between money used for instructional purposes and increased stu d e n t achievement' (1988:263). They m ention a point germ ane to th is study by stressing the need to look a t the indirect effect of expenditures on stu d e n t achievement,
A further example of the continuing interest in research in th is area is given by the U.S. Departm ent of Education, whose 1988 study claims th at class size is an unim portant factor in predicting stu d e n t
achievem ent until th e student-teacher ratio declines to 5:1. They also point o u t th e depressing fact th a t to reduce the ratio to even 15:1 would cost over $69 billion annually, a projection which may, in itself, lay the class-size debate to rest for a while.
Echoes of Colem an’s (1966) report can be heard in the continuing com plaints ab o u t the difficulty of isolating resource
allocation practices from the highly correlated factors of wealth, socio -economic s ta tu s an d racial composition (MacPhail-Wilcox and King,
1986). Lee, Aron, and Aron (1988) found in their study of Michigan E ducational A ssessm ent Program (MEAP) scores th a t basic
instructional expenditures were highly correlated with MEAP scores, and th a t these scores were higher (and drop-out rates lower) where the proportion of local revenue w as the greatest. This ties in with H artm an's 1988 findings on spending p attern s (see above), and appears to reinforce the usefulness of socio-economic sta tu s as a predictor of academ ic success.
Agenda for Education Finance Research
Odden (1986a) offered ’a school finance research agenda for an era of education reform', and suggested th a t the new concern is how to finance education to improve its quality' (p.49). He identified new agenda item s as follows: school finance and education reform, local use of reform dollars, cost im pacts of reform program s, and cost
31
effectiveness of alternative strategies for reform objectives. The traditional problem s would still provide plenty of grist for the researchers' mill, national trends, equity of resource distribution, funding for special needs children, tax equity, and alternative revenue sources to schools. To these topics he added pre-school and d?y care issues, public-sector choice program s and com puters in school
finance.
School Finance and F iu cation Reform
It begins to be possible to see how close Odden came to accuracy in his agenda. There is certainly m uch analysis of th e two decades of reform: the 1970s characterized by issues of equity and equality as state finance system s struggled with school finance reform, and the
1980s dom inated by education reform centred on excellence and quality (Ward and Camp, 1988). They suggest (as Ward (1988) does elsewhere) th a t su p p o rt for school finance reform an d social action declined in the late 1970s as they h ad not 'm aterially improved the plight of those they were designed to aid' (Ward, 1988:193). The swing to issues of adequacy rath e r th a n equity may represent a backlash.
Some saw positive financial consequences of education reform. Wright and Inm an (1988) claim th a t reform showed th a t 'm ost
reforms c;m save ra th e r th a n cost money. In their study of Dallas Independent School District they found th a t in 1978 the district had the highest p er pupil cost in Texas, and one of the lowest ratings on standardized tests. By cutting 25% of the staff over two years, raising th e rem aining teachers' salaries, slashing the num ber of stu d e n t elective courses from 350 to 120, and tightening the attendance policy the district produced an academic improvem ent over 10 years 'unm atched by any other m ajor school district in the country’ (p. 11).
Some w riters looked a t specific issues connected with education reform, especially sources of funding and the fiscal im pact of reform (Inman, 1987; Odden, 1986b); othe s were highly critical. Jo rd an and McKeown subtitled th e ir 1988 article on state funding for reform 'False hopes and unfulfilled dream s'. Kerchner and Boyd (1988) talk of the 'm arket and bureaucratic failure in educational reform' (p.57), and claim th a t 'there is a real danger th a t support for American public education could be jeopardized if the cu rren t reform movement ultim ately is judged a failure' (p.57).
Eauitv and Efficiency
Equity issues are still a concern in both C anada and the United S tates in spite of the shift in em phasis to quality. Coleman (1987) addressed th e question of fiscal equity and the problem of stu d e n t dispersion in British Columbia. Drawing on his previous reaearch
3 3
(Coleman an d Larocque, 1984), he claims th a t the Fiscal Fram ework in B ritish Columbia does not recognize dispersion and treats school
districts 'punitively for cost factors beyc nd their control' (Coleman, 1987:50). Paquette (1987) criticized the lack of vertical equity in O ntario education finance, and Verstegen an d Salm on (1988) were unable to arrive a t a definite answ er to their question of w hether equity find excellence had been achieved by finance reform in Virginia.
Organizational efficiency m ay be counterproductive from a strictly educational point of view, as C allahan (1962) argued, b u t it becomes a m ajor factor in tim es of financial restraint. Gronn (1982) noted the reappearance of w hat he term ed neo-Taylorism in the early
1980s, and echoed the concerns of Callahan. An 'efficient' approach in th e sh o rt term m ay however also lead to inefficiencies over a longer period. The concerns with declining sta n d a rd s of school facilities because of age and lack of capital im provem ents during a period of recession identified by the 1988 Royal Commission on E ducation in British Columbia were also seen as equity issues. Thom pson and Camp (1988) found m any problems apparent in th eir stu d y of equity in
capital outlay and funding m echanism s in Kansas, and Honeyman, Wood, Thom pson and Stew art (1988) concluded th a t ru ra l and small schools suffered because there were n o t enough funds available to su p p o rt modernization, upgrading, safety concerns and provision for handicapped students.
The questions of economic efficiency an d accountability
addressed in th e study by Wright and Inm an (1988) described above were also examined with regard to expenditures (Walberg and Fowler,
1987) and m anagem ent of public school debt (Bland and Yu, 1988), Perhaps signficantly, the legal aspects of school finance policy begin to loom large. In this context issues of equity play a m ajor role (Connelly and McGee, 1987), b u t it seem s likely th a t accountability and
efficiency are also involved.
Im plications for Theory
In the recent literature reviewed only one w riter (Chabotar, 1987) directly drew lessons from the period of retrenchm ent, stressing the need for financial forecasting and m ulti-year plans. Cram pton (1988) looked ahead to state/local funding questions in a stu d y of the im plications of the 'crisis in Oregon school finance' (p.259), b u t arrived a t no definite answers. On the C anadian scene policy m aking with regard to education finance w as addressed a t the provincial level by Bohac's (1989) paper on Alberta's m anagem ent and finance plan, incorporating Hodgkinson's (1978) value paradigm to explain a shift from a IIA consequence-type organization to a IIB consensus-type one. Bosetti, Landiy and Miklos (1989) discount the rational model of educational planning and policy analysis and
3 5
SW Bfflgg
The literature an d research reviewed indicate th a t organizational change has until com paratively recently m ost often been considered in conditions of growth an d innovation. When faced with crises or
declining resource availability the organizational reaction initially
tends to involve denial or temporizing. The research on organizational dom ain changes in response to funding changes gives some su p p o rt to this by suggesting th a t cuts take place initially in areas outside the core technology of the school system. More drastic and long-lasting funding cu ts resu lt in an extension of this pattern, with changes in both the level and the mix of services provided. Administrative and support staff, who tend to increase proportionately in num bers during a period of declining enrolm ent, are likely to experience relatively greater cu ts th a n instructional staff. There is some evidence to suggest th a t subsequent funding increases do not substantially alter these proportions.
Recent tren d s in the literature dem onstrate th a t th e problem s associated w ith declining enrolm ent and economic recession are no longer of su ch im portance. New and traditional issues have replaced them, including education reform, equity of resource distribution, provision of educational services for the handicapped, and alternative revenue sources for schools.
Chapter 3
Financial, Educational and Demographic Context
In order to establish the economic and political context within w hich the stu d y is designed, it is necessary to consider in a
prelim inary m an n er certain relevant information. This chapter explains education funding practices in the four w estern provinces, an d th en gives a general picture of economic conditions, levels of education funding, enrolm ent changes, num bers of teachers, and teachers' salaries in those provinces from 1976 to 1987.
Education Finance in the Western Provinces
The four provinces studied exhibit basically sim ilar education system s, a n d it is appropriate a t this time to draw attention to the differences and sim ilarities apparent in their attem pts to achieve the common goal of providing adequate educational services to all
stu d en ts in an equitable m anner.
In 1983 B ritish Columbia replaced its increm ental Basic
Education Program (BEP) with a resource-cost model known as the Fiscal Framework. This modified foundation plan consists of a
description of educational services (service levels) and a statem ent of the cost 'acceptable' to the Province of delivering these services in each school district (cost factors). In com bination these provide a
37
method of determ ining w hat it should cost to deliver a provincially acceptable educational program in each school district. If districts wish to exceed these service levels they m ay do so, b u t th e Province will sh are only in the cost of services described in th e Fiscal
Framework. Government g ran ts (drawn from general revenue an d the centralized collection and redistribution of non-residential property taxes) m ake u p a m inim um of 57% of the cost of delivering these services for each district. The comparative wealth of each district in term s of residential property assessm ent values per stu d e n t
determ ines the proportion of the rem aining 43% to be paid by local taxpayers. The w ealthier districts are responsible for the whole am ount, while the poorest districts contribute only a very sm all
percentage. Provincially, governm ent grants rep resen t approxim ately 75% of the shareable costs. Since 1986, if districts wish to raise additional am ounts they may again increase local residential property taxes to do so (B.C. Ministry of Education, 1988b).
The funding of education in Alberta is also sh ared between the Province and local school boards. Most provincial funds are allocated through the School Foundation Program F und (SFPF) which operates as a typical foundation grant plan; th a t is, a foundation level is set, a local contribution is determ ined based on local wealth, and school boards may raise additional funds. In Alberta the basic local levy is assessed only on non-residential properties, and supplem entary levels
beyond the foundation level are raised from local residential and com mercial assessm ents. The Supplem entary Requisition
Equalization G rant (SREG) attem pts to equalize the burden of these additional taxes. Recent studies have identified num erous problems, including confusion over w hat constitutes a local as opposed to a provincial contribution, the num ber of special purpose grants th a t have developed, and the lack of control over educational expenditures (Lawton, 1982, 1987). These problems are fairly typical of a long standing foundation plan which can work well in a stable situation, but requires co n stan t adjustm ent and fine-tim ing w hen enrolm ent
changes and inflationary p ressures distort the original concepts.
Saskatchew an also operates on a modified foundation plan, with elem entary and secondary schools jointly funded by provincial and local authorities. The am ount of operating expenditure eligible for provincial assistan ce is referred to as the 'total recognized
expenditure' (i.e. recognized for g rant purposes). The am ount of the g ran t is th e difference between the total recognized expenditure and the local revenue raised by applying a mill rate specified by the
Province. The Education Development Fund is designed to support various initiatives, b u t over half is allocated using a modified form of equalization to en su re support for less wealthy boards (Lawton, 1987).
39
the education finance reviews in 1982 and 1983 (Nicholls, 1983). The Province h a s moved from the Education S upport Program (ESP) to the Government Support of Education Program (GSEP) w hich is designed to provide greater equity and to be more sensitive to in te r district variations. The GSEP provides three types of grants: block, categorical and equalization support. The block grant is a flat grant per weighted pupil, the 13 categorical grants cover various aspects of th e education system from transportation to English as a Second Language (ESL) and sm all schools, and the equalization support g ran t recognizes differences in relative local w ealth. Local authorities may raise additional funds by increasing the local levy. The GSEP funds come from consolidated revenue and province-wide levies on residential and non-residential property. These are considered as education taxes, although in fact they form p a rt of th e Province's consolidated revenue (Lawton, 1987).
All four provinces, therefore, fund public schooling through some com bination of provincial general revenue an d local property taxation. The b u lk of the funding comes from the former source, and th u s government decisions about the am ount of financial su p p o rt to be m ade available have a considerable effect on the operation of the
school system s. The am ount of local property tax revenue used for education, w hether determ ined by provincial governm ents or local school authorities, is relatively small. The m ajor inter-district
differences in revenue-raising capacity are generally recognized, b u t attem pts a t equalization do not change the reality th a t some districts are m uch w ealthier th a n others. There are considerable variations ap p aren t w hen the funding system s are examined in detail, a state of affairs w hich is furth er complicated by the proliferation of different nam es and acronym s used to describe often basically similar functions and concepts.
Funding Changes
E nrolm ent. As was noted earlier, funding levels may be affected
by various factors, especially enrolm ent and economic conditions. The four provinces u n d er review each experienced declining enrolm ent from 1976 to 1987, as is shown in Figure 2. British Columbia's public school enrolm ent dropped a total 9.9% over th is period, with the rate of decline holding fairly co n stan t until 1985 when it began to slow down before m arginal increases in 1987. M anitoba experienced a sim ilar p attern , b u t the total enrolm ent drop of 12.6% over the sam e period w as even greater th a n B ritish Columbia's. Saskatchew an's enrolm ent declined by 9% from 1976 to 1983, then showed a
m arginal increase (0.7%) from 1983 to 1986, and a slight drop (0.1%) by 1987. E nrolm ent in Alberta was m uch more stable, with only
m inor fluctuations over the period: down 1.8% from 1976 to 1979, up 2.6% by 1982, down 0.6% by 1984, up 0.8% by 1986 and down 0.1% by 1987 (Statistics Canada, 1976-1987: see Appendix A).
