2007 SPACE Survey Released

Executive Summary

In 2005 the SPACE Coalition, in conjunction with the SPT (formerly the CSPC-T), undertook an Ontario-wide survey of community users of school space to assess their awareness of the provincially funded CUS program (Community Use of Schools). CUS was designed to reverse the loss of affordable access to schools by community groups, resulting from changes to the education funding formula in the late 1990s.

This year’s survey sought to assess the changes to community groups’ ability to access schools, resulting from the $20 million annual provincial investment in CUS.

According to the survey results, it appears there has been some progress in improving access to school space for some communities as a result of this infusion of funding. However, it is clear that many community groups continue to be excluded from this benefit, including groups working with children, youth, newcomers and seniors.

The survey’s findings identify the key barriers to increasing the community use of schools, including:

• Increasing fees in some jurisdictions despite CUS funding.
• A patchwork of fee structures and application processes, and some Boards with very high fees.
• Insufficient availability of space in schools after school, on weekends, and during the summer.
• Inconsistent approvals of applications and restrictions to access at local school and Board levels.