Changing Demographics: Declining enrolment impacts Rainbow Schools

School boards in Ontario are experiencing declining enrolment at a significant rate, including Rainbow District School Board serving Sudbury, Espanola and Manitoulin.

"In the last five years, the number of students in Ontario schools (outside the GTA) has declined by 90,000," says Jean Hanson, Director of Education for Rainbow District School Board. "Enrolment is declining in 60 of the 72 school boards in Ontario." With declining enrolment, school boards receive less funding overall from the Province.

"Funding is linked directly to enrolment," explains Director Hanson. "When enrolment increases, boards receive more money. When enrolment decreases, boards receive less money."  She adds: "Fewer students means less money which means fewer teachers in Rainbow Schools."

The full impact of declining enrolment in Rainbow Schools will be determined when the 2008-2009 budget is finalized. Budget deliberations will begin at the end of May.

Hanson says local demographics help to put declining enrolment into perspective. Within the City of Greater Sudbury, the number of children aged 0 to 14 has decreased by 16.5 per cent over the last ten years. The 40 and over age group, meanwhile, has increased by 17.8 per cent.

"The statistics confirm that we not only have an aging population, we have a significant decline in the number of school age children," says Hanson. According to the City of Greater Sudbury, there are a number of reasons for this – people are not having as many children, they are having children later in life, and those in the 24 to 39 age group are moving out of the city. The average household size has declined from 4.0 in 1971 to 2.4 in 2006.

In the last 10 years, the City of Greater Sudbury?s population has decreased by 4.2 per cent. The City recorded a population increase of 1.7 per cent in the 2006 Census.

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Media Contact:

Jean Hanson, Director of Education,
Rainbow District School Board, 705.674.3171, ext. 7215.