Are school boards and the school tax still justified?
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A sharp rise in municipal tax rolls has led school boards in many regions in Quebec to announce exorbitant increases in the school tax for 2006-07, exceeding 50% in some places. The Quebec government has intervened to limit the increase to about 4%. This controversy has nonetheless revived debate on the value and legitimacy of the school tax as a means of complementary financing for school boards – and of school boards themselves as institutions. More than a century-and-a-half after they were created, do school boards still play a necessary role in managing the education system? Can a fairer and more efficient arrangement be devised?
Links of interest
Media Release: Poll results: A majority in Quebec favour greater autonomy in school management – It is time to call school boards into question
Economic Note: Decentralization of school management: Ideas from Abroad
Léger Marketing-MEI Public Poll (February 2007): Quebeckers Opinion on the Organization and Financing of Public School