Something to learn from

CBC reports that Canadian schools are fund-raising an average of nearly $16,000 per year in order to keep going - and that the fund-raising isn't only to provide for trips and perks:

The results of the first numbers-based study of marketing in the school system found that ad deals with corporations and fundraising campaigns are being used to support schools' basic needs...

Schools raise an estimated $200 million across Canada from ad deals and fundraising, the report said. Money is generated by selling chocolate bars, ads on campus, charging user fees, exclusive contracts with corporations and even by selling curriculum materials, it said...

Money raised by ad deals and fundraising went most often to library books and school trips, the survey found. But Shaker said she heard from one teacher whose school used ad dollars to buy sinks for the bathroom.

"You can argue that a sink isn't necessary, but I'd like to think that running water is something that you can expect in our schools," she said.

The article also notes that the presence of private fund-raising tends to widen the quality gap between wealthier and poorer schools. But the bigger issue is that schools across the board are having to spend so much time and effort seeking private financing rather than being able to rely on public funding to provide functional facilities and basic educational materials. And if that problem isn't fixed now, Canadians as a whole will pay the price for a less well-educated population in the future.