NDP Education Critic Rosario Marchese says Underfunding of Schools is Hurting Students throughout the Province.

While devastated PCVS students and concerned citizens are rallying to save the historic downtown Peterborough High School, Peterborough NDP candidate Dave Nickle would like to know why it took until now, on the eve of a provincial election, for Jeff Leal to take action.

"This is just another part of the legacy Jeff Leal has built in Peterborough," says Dave Nickle. "Dalton McGuinty has been travelling around Ontario for the last month telling the people of Ontario that he is building schools and hiring nurses. Unfortunately, we're not seeing that here in Peterborough. In fact, we are seeing the opposite."

Nickle, a former teacher, does not want to see any of the schools close, and believes that the process has been flawed from the start. He is also committed to doing everything he can once elected to ensure that PCVS stays open.

"In keeping with the way he handled the hospital issue in Peterborough, we can't be confident in what Mr. Leal is telling us now," says Nickle, referring to the loss of more than 150 jobs at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre under Leal's watch. "The reality on the ground in Peterborough is much different than what Dalton McGuinty has been telling voters."

Trinity-Spadina candidate and NDP Education Critic Rosario Marchese says that the problems facing Peterborough are being experienced around the province.

"The McGuinty Liberals have consistently underfunded the Ontario school system," says Marchese. "School closures are the natural result of a government that chooses to underfund our education system and forces parents to fundraise $600 million a year to pay for basic school needs."

An NDP government in Ontario will revamp the flawed school funding formula to ensure that students in Ontario are not put in the same position that students at PCVS, TASS and other schools in Peterborough have faced over the past year.

"We also need to make full employment a priority for communities like Peterborough," says Nickle. "If we can attract and retain young families, there will be no need to close schools."
The NDP will also reduce school reliance on parent fees and fundraising; provide parent councils with a new per capita grant to allocate to clubs, teams, field trips, special events and presentations; and end the practice of charging fees for courses in Ontario high schools, while compensating schools for lost revenue.

The NDP has received strong reviews of its education platform during the campaign. The Canadian Federation of Students gave the NDP education platform the highest marks of all the parties, and similarly, the Ontario Coalition for Better Childcare determined that the NDP platform regarding early childhood education and care is the strongest of the four major parties contesting the Ontario election.