The pie charts illustrate the alteration in annual spending in Canadian public schools between 1990 and 2010.
Overall, total school spending experienced significant changes, with teachers’ salaries dominating initially, and an increasing budget on facilities and maintenance by the end of the period.
In the first decade, the budget was emphasized mainly on teachers’ salaries, starting at 55% in 1990 and slightly decreasing to 50% in 2000. The second and third expense categories were learning resources and facilities and maintenance. Learning resources remained constant throughout the period, while facilities and maintenance increased by 5%, starting at 15%. Technology showed a slight increase from 5% to 8% in a decade. Other spending took 15% initially but decreased to 12%.
In 2010, annual spending remained approximately stable. Spending on teachers’ salaries took 45%, while facilities and maintenance increased by 5%. Learning resources plateaued at 10%, while technology expenses overtook other spending, hitting 12%. Other charges became the lowest consumption of an annual budget, lagging behind at 8%.
