(Canada) Limestone: SPED underfunded, 'population has grown, schools are overfilled'

Oct 10, 2025, The Whig: Kingston parent blames underfunding as school services reduced for children with special needs at school

https://www.thewhig.com/news/kingston-parent-blames-underfunding-as-school-services-reduced-for-children-with-special-needs-at-school

Shortly after Spencer Rice enrolled his 10-year-old daughter, Scarlett, in school this fall, he said he quickly noticed she wasn’t getting the care she had been accustomed to in previous school years.

According to Rice, in the past his daughter, who is autistic, has required and received the care and expertise of an education assistant (EA) for most of the day. But now, he said, she only receives approximately 20 minutes per day.

Scarlett is a Grade 5 student at Lancaster Drive Public School, a school she has attended since kindergarten. Scarlet was diagnosed as having Level 2 autism, meaning she requires “substantial support,” which involves notable difficulties in social communication and interaction.

Rice, a Kingston resident, sent a letter to the director of education with Limestone District School Board (LDSB) on behalf of his daughter pleading for change. A copy of the letter was also sent to Education Minister Paul Calandra and to the office of Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

 “I’m told it’s an underfunding issue,” Rice said. “It doesn’t just affect my daughter and autistic children. It affects all children with disabilities as well.”

The school board responded with a brief note, which read: “Thank you for your e-mail and expression of concern. We are certainly facing fiscal constraints, but we need to do the best we can to support students. I will be having the school supervisor follow up with the principal at Lancaster Drive Public School to further discuss current needs and their current allocation of supports.” . . .

In the statement, Gillam claimed that the LDSB is currently spending more than $9 million [$6.4M US] beyond the funding allocated by the province on special education services.

“A significant portion of this additional spending is attributed to Educational Assistant (EA) staffing, which reflects the board’s strong commitment to supporting students with special needs despite ongoing financial pressures. Allocating millions of dollars more each year beyond provincial funding has been a board priority through the budgeting process for many years,” Gillam said.

The number of EAs employed by LDSB has steadily increased over the past several years, reflecting the board’s dedication to inclusive education and student well-being,” Gillam said.

The letter went on to say that there has been a steady increase in EA support at area schools and that there are many other resources available in the schools, outside of EA support, that can help.

Rice also reached out to an autism advocacy group for help, the Ontario Autism Coalition (OAC).

OAC vice-president of operations, Tony Stravato, told the Whig he’s been advocating for the rights of children with disabilities since 2019 and has urged authorities, even the Ontario premier himself, to increase funding.

“They all just keep saying they’re investing record amounts of money, but they don’t or won’t see that our population has grown and our schools are overfilled,” Stravato said in a telephone interview.

According to Rice, the situation has affected many students, and their parents are also demanding more EA support. . . .

Ontario Autism Coalition (OAC) vice-president of operations Tony Stravato has been advocating for autistic children and their families since 2019. Photo supplied

As such, he said, “Typically they would bypass Scarlett and shift the support to children with more severe disabilities like my boys, which shouldn’t be the case. They all deserve the help.” . . .

. . .Stravato said the demand for support is higher than the provincial budget provides for children with disabilities and said it is an uphill battle he has been fighting for years, as an advocate and as a father of twin boys with severe or profound (level 3) autism.

“My boys are now 12 years old and have never attended school because our school board (Durham) has never been able to provide them with the support that they need to just be safe, let alone an education,” Stravato said in a telephone interview on Thursday.

The board never denied the Stravato children an education and they were registered for school several times, but Stravato and his wife could not bring themselves to put their children in an unsafe environment.

Stravato’s boys elope, meaning they are flight risks and could run into unsafe territory like busy roadways if not contained or supervised. Self-harm is also an issue for severely autistic children like Stravato’s sons.

Gillam, meanwhile, said the number of EAs employed by LDSB has steadily increased over the past several years. . . .

Stravato maintains that it isn’t enough, as the number of children with disabilities is also growing. He frequently fights for families to get them sufficient support. . . .

Stravato cited an incident last year in the Durham region where an autistic child went missing from the school for an hour and a half before anyone noticed. He was found in the middle of a busy intersection by a member of the community who alerted the school. . . .

Closer to home, A 16-year-old boy with disabilities in Trenton died at school while unsupervised in a calming room. The matter is before the courts in a civil suit against the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board. . . .

 “Out of 85,000 autistic children registered with the program, only 20 thousand of those are being funded for programs and therapies,” he said. “The remaining 65 thousand are just jammed into an already overcrowded system with no support.”

Despite his frustration, Rice did note that he and his family are optimistic after an encouraging conversation with the vice-principal at the school last week.

“Historically, the Lancaster school has been incredibly supportive of our daughter, to the point where I’ve almost been brought to tears by how great they are,” Rice said. “This is definitely, 100 per cent, the fault of the Ontario government and its underfunding of our school system.