Imagine if the province could lower school property taxes and improve classroom results at the same time. Farfetched? Not really. 

First, consider that provincial data shows there were 184,494 students in the K-12 public education system back in 2000-01. Yet by 2009-10, enrolment had plummeted to just 159,457 students – a 14 per cent drop.

However, over the same period annual K-12 operating costs rose from $1.083 billion in 2000 (this data was previously reported using the calendar year) to $1.589 billion in 2008-09 – a whopping 47 per cent increase.

In other words, there are far fewer students in the school system than there were ten years ago, but costs have absolutely skyrocketed.

Some will shrug their shoulders and point out that costs generally rise over time. That’s a fair consideration, so put aside the fact that there are fewer students in the system for a moment. 

Had total education spending increased at the rate of inflation over the past decade, school spending would only have been about $1.321 billion in 2008-09; $270 million lower than it actually was. If you took that $270 million in cost control savings and shaved it off the $596 million taxpayers paid in school property taxes in 2010, that’s enough to cut your school property tax bill by 45 per cent.

Thus, if you pay $1,000 per year in school taxes, a more prudent approach to K-12 spending over the past decade would be saving you $450 each year. What would you do with your savings?

Armchair quarterbacks will point out that part of the increase in spending is due to the rise in the number of students with learning problems such as attention deficit disorder. Others will note that some costs (eg. fuel) sometimes rise faster than the inflation rate.

Those are fair comments, but couldn’t the savings from a 14 per cent drop in enrolment have been used to offset those pressures?

In terms of how the government could actually go about delivering savings to you the taxpayer, it must address labour costs as they typically represent 70-80 per cent of school spending. Not to mention the fact that salaries have been rising well above the rate of inflation.

Fortunately, reforming this area could actually help both students and the best teachers in the system.

You see, right now, teachers are paid based on years served. For example, the best teacher in your local school division with four years experience is paid the same as the worst teacher in the division with four years experience.

That’s hardly fair is it?

Not only does the current system provide teachers with no incentive to compete to provide better lessons to students, paying “C” teachers the same as “A+” ones is a costly premium for taxpayers.

By removing the automatic pay increases that teachers receive and creating a system based on performance, students would win, taxpayers would win and even the best teachers out there would win.

Certainly there are other initiatives worth exploring such as school board amalgamations or phasing out school boards all together. After all, why couldn’t principals serve as managers and report to a board of local parents and taxpayers directly?

One thing is for certainly, with skyrocketing costs and fewer students, the system could do with a good review. Now there’s an A+ idea.