Managing Reform with a Contracting Resource Base: A Persistent Administrative Dilemma.

Canadian education has traditionally been financed by two major sources: (1) transfer payments from the federal government to the provinces; and (2) residential and business property tax revenues levied by municipalities. The Canadian federal government has recently announced a planned cut of 750 million dollars a year for 3 years in transfer payments for education to the provinces. As a result, school board administrators must make stringent use of budgeting resources that have also recently been reduced at the provincial level. This paper examines the impact of incremental resource reductions on the Wentworth County Board of Education (Ontario), with a focus on maintaining teacher support and service quality in schools while retaining equity of educational provision. It is recommended that Ontario carefully restructure the way in which the resource interface is managed at provincial, school board, and school levels. Measures taken at the school board level will not deliver efficiency, effectiveness, economy, and equity. The continuation of existing administrative structures will result in an unraveling of educational provision, disparities in both the level and quality of services for students, and an inability to address a growing range of professional issues related to equity. The appendix contains the Wentworth County Board of Education budget for fall 1995. (LMI)