They are used for community events, by Scouts and Guides, for ratepayers meetings and for after school programs. Playing fields are used by community teams and school playgrounds are used by children and their parents year round. This year more schools reported fees for community use, and some said they were forced to cancel after school programs because there is no money in the funding formula to cover the maintenance costs of the community use of schools. Many schools reported that they had no funds to replace playgrounds that had been removed because of changes in provincial saftey standards. One third of the libraries in our study are now open only part-time.
Libraries are the hub of many schools.
Teacher librarians not only maintain the books and research material housed in school libraries, but most of the electronic information as well. They teach students how to use a library, how to do research, how to write papers and, how to use computers and the internet to enhance their learning. Teacher librarians also act as computer support staff and collaborate with classroom teachers to select resources to deliver curriculum in Science, Social Studies and Reading. Constraints in the funding formula have caused a number of boards to eliminate teacher librarians altogether. Transportation Transportation funding is a problem for all school boards, and particularly problematic for rural boards.