Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the formula contains a number of items and I want to be careful about giving Members the impression that it could be figured out this simply. If for example we have 17,000 students in the school system this year and there are 18,000 students next year and we have $139 million both years to provide to the schools to deliver education services, that means that the per student funding that goes to each board has to be reduced. So a board that has a rapidly increasing number of students may see some increase in their funding because the funding would shift on a per student basis. So, yes - there is a chance that boards, even with a small increase in student population, will see a decrease in the amount of funding that goes to them depending on how the final calculations work in the formula.
I should also let the House know that last year the formula was not finalized until early July. That is the time at which all the boards got letters advising them precisely what their funding would be for the 96/97 school year. We will follow that same time table this year. We expect to be able to finalize the formula earlier in July and all boards will be notified in writing in early July what the final number will be. The boards know right now approximately what they can expect. It is just that the formula has to be fine tuned in order to come up with the actual dollars and cents. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.