With the start of school next week don't be surprised to see misleading advertisements from the Ministry of Education that attempt to hide the Campbell cuts. The usual government line has something to do with increased funding despite declining enrollment; it fails to mention that on an inflation adjusted basis the funding per student has been cut. That is obvious to children, parents and teachers. It is also obvious by getting past the money illusion and looking at figures from the Ministry of Education on the number of students and educators. Over the two years ending September 30, 2003, the number of full time equivalent students decreased by 1.97% (11,555) while the number of full time equivalent educators (teachers and principals) decreased by 7.19% (2,585).

Last year government ads ran in the major dailies complete with enrollment figures that were inconsistent with the official count of full time equivalent students. In preparation for this year's round of claims from the Ministry of Education, the following baseline information is based on Forms 1701 and 2003, which school districts are required to submit as of September 30th each year.