Education spending waaaaay up in Nova Scotia yet problems persist

“Look up… waaaaay up.” This was how each episode of the old CBC kids’ show The Friendly Giant began. The Friendly Giant isn’t around anymore, but if we’re looking for things that are waaaaay up, look at education spending in Nova Scotia.

According to a new study, from 2012/13 to 2021/22, the latest school year of available data, per-student spending in Nova Scotia increased from $11,727 to $16,045 or by 12.3 per cent after adjusting for inflation. That’s an enormous increase. One might even describe it as gigantic.

And during the same time period, operational spending, which is comprised predominantly of salaries and benefits for teachers, increased by 12.2 per cent after adjusting for inflation. Thus, teacher unions are incorrect when they claim that teacher salaries and benefits are falling behind the rate of inflation.

On top of this, the Nova Scotia government just gave public school teachers another hefty raise of 11.47 per cent over three years, retroactive to August 2023. No doubt this will result in even more government spending.

And yet, one of the most common complaints from teacher unions is that provincial governments spend too little on education. Open the spending taps, they say, and we will see better academic results.

But is that true?

According to the latest results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Nova Scotia math scores are way down, tumbling 45 points from 2003 to 2022, the latest PISA year. PISA equates 20 points with one year of learning. In other words, Nova Scotia’s inflation-adjusted per-student spending is up 12.3 per cent but students are two years behind in their math skills than they were 20 years ago. It doesn’t look like Nova Scotia taxpayers are getting good value for their money.

Education is about much more than dollars and cents. It’s a human endeavour that depends on the quality of instruction and the relationship between students and teachers. Clearly, the Nova Scotia government should look at factors other than the dollars spent on schools.

For example, given the fact that reading comprehension is directly linked to prior content knowledge, curriculum guides need much more content than what they typically have today. There’s also plenty of evidence that teacher-directed instruction is far more effective than the unguided so-called discovery learning—including discovery math—popular today.

Finally, there’s the problem of violence in Nova Scotia schools. A recent report from the auditor general noted a 60 per cent increase in reported school violence since 2017. No wonder students and parents are concerned. Unfortunately, instead of dealing openly with this issue, politicians are sweeping it under the rug. When the Nova Scotia Teachers Union tried to speak about this issue at a recent government committee hearing, government MLAs voted to prevent them from testifying. This made it look like the government has something to hide.

It’s hard for learning to happen when students and teachers are unsafe. Until politicians take their heads out of the sand and tackle this issue openly, the problem of violence in schools will get worse, not better.

Education spending is up, waaaaay up in Nova Scotia. There’s nothing friendly about this increase, nor are things likely to improve if the government opens the spending taps further without addressing the real issues in schools.