Private partnership solves funding woees in schools

When the going gets tough, the tough go looking for partners. In the educational system, funding is tight and cutbacks are the norm. But school boards are starting to look at alternatives to bring technology into the classroom. And partnering with IT vendors has proven to be the right choice for at

The Durham District School Board in Ontario has more than 60,000 students in elementary and secondary schools, plus 3,500 in special education. A few years ago, the school board had more than 8,500 computers - but only 35 per cent of them were modern enough to handle the new software and network standards that were eventually to be implemented.

In Ontario, funding by the provincial government is set at $43 per pupil in elementary and $56 per pupil in secondary school.

"It's gotten to the point where we don't have enough money in the funding model and it needs to be expanded," says Ron Trbovich, treasurer and superintendent of education and business of the Durham Board of Education. "We want to get to a 5:1 or 4:1 ratio in the classroom. Right now it's about 10:1."