Study Says Student Spending Up 11%

Spending on public schools in BC has increased 11 per cent, on a per-student basis, over the past decade, according to a study by the Fraser Institute.

The public policy think-tank says per student spending, adjusted for inflation, rose form about $11,059 in 2006/07 to $11,656 in 2017, even though enrolment dropped by 7 percent over that period.

“Contrary to what we often hear, spending is on the rise in B.C.’s public education system,” said Angela MacLeod, a senior policy analyst with the Institute and co-author of Education Spending and Public School Enrolment in Canada, 2019.

The institute says teacher and staff compensation (salaries, pensions, benefits) accounted for 90 per cent of the increased spending, rising from $3.9 billion in 2006/07 to more than $4.5 billion in 2015/16.

“This spending increase occurred over a decade that saw a 7.2 per cent decline in B.C. public school enrolment. In fact, from 2006/07 to 2015/16, public school enrolment dropped by more than 25,000 students. This is part of the reason why per student spending is increasing; even small nominal increases in spending get amplified when the number of students decline,” says MacLeod.

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