Ontario Education Minister Paul Calandra is facing intense scrutiny following a damning report from Provincial Auditor General Shelley Spence. The report exposes a special education system that is lax, confusing, and underfunded, leaving students with special needs shortchanged.
Systemic Failures in Special Education
The auditor general's findings go beyond standard government incompetence, revealing a system that should cause those in charge to hang their heads in shame. While Calandra cannot be blamed for longstanding issues—he has only been minister for just over a year—he now faces the monumental task of reforming a deeply flawed system.
Underfunding at the Core
A key revelation in the report is that 46 of Ontario's 72 school boards spend more on special education than the province provides, totaling $397.9 million in 2023–24—double the combined school board deficits. This suggests that the root cause of deficits is provincial underfunding, not trustee mismanagement, as Calandra has claimed. His takeover of school boards, sidelining trustees and imposing supervisors, appears misdirected.
Insufficient Funding Growth
Calandra has pointed to "additional funding" for special education, but the auditor general found that between 2019–20 and 2023–24, provincial support grew only 15 percent—roughly matching inflation. This is treading water, not improvement. School boards have used reserves and cut elsewhere to boost special ed spending by an extra four percent. Now Calandra wants board spending to align with provincial templates, raising questions about how the $400 million shortfall will be addressed.
Calandra has questioned whether increased funding produces results, noting a lack of evidence for improved outcomes. However, the auditor general highlights that the system largely fails to set assessable goals, making it impossible to measure success. The minister announced this week that base student support, including special education, will rise by one percent.
