The Ford government says it will give elementary school teachers access to $750 per year in classroom supplies, which they’ll be able to order directly from a new provincial website.
Beginning in September, teachers will be able to use the money to buy writing supplies, calculators, chalk, art, crafts and tissue, among other classroom supplies.
The government said it will offer direct support to teachers, who, Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Paul Calandra both say, have been forced until now to spend their own money on supplies from dollar stores.
“I think it was a Dollarama and I met a couple of educators,” Ford recalled. “They’re picking up supplies, and they’re paying out of their pocket. Sure enough, a couple of weeks later, same scenario.”
The new system is designed to leverage the provincial government’s purchasing power through a centralized system. The government hopes mass ordering managed by Supply Ontario will lead to savings.
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“A lot of teachers say the platform that they go to now to buy supplies is far more expensive than if they were just to go to Walmart or Dollarama to buy that,” Calandra explained.
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“What we are going to do is bring the purchasing power of the entire province of Ontario together, offer more, offer it at a lot less cost and let teachers go online for themselves to buy what they need for their classroom.”
He said the funds would be in addition to the money boards currently receive. The policy is estimated to cost the government around $66 million per year.
The response from education unions representing teachers was skeptical, with the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario suggesting the move could be designed to “buy” its members ahead of new contract talks.
“For years, educators have spent hundreds of dollars of their own money to ensure students have what they need. If the government is finally acknowledging this reality, it’s long overdue,” union president David Mastin said in a statement.
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“The real issue that needs addressing is this government’s ongoing refusal to address the chronic underfunding that forces educators to subsidize classrooms out of their own pockets in the first place.”
Martha Hradowy, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, was equally lukewarm in her reception.
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“It’s like handing a firefighter a cheque and telling them to buy a hose before they show up to put out a fire,” she wrote in a statement. “The real solution is properly funding schools, so the resources students and educators need are already there.”
The government said the new website will offer supplies for elementary teachers grade-by-grade, which will then be delivered directly to schools.
Calandra said he would consult with teachers to work out what supplies are needed to stock on the website.
He confirmed the current policy, which only targets elementary school teachers, was a “start” and he would be open to expanding it to secondary school teachers.
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