What is the Classroom Enhancement Fund (CEF)?

The CEF is a type of supplemental operating grant BC school districts receive. It is also referred to as a special purpose fund (SPF).

According to the Ministry of Education and Child Care, “the Classroom Enhancement Fund (CEF) was created to fund the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA), negotiated with the 2013-2019 BCPSEA–BCTF Provincial Collective Agreement.”[1] The CEF is meant to address the additional staffing and overhead costs required to comply with the restored collective agreement language on class size and composition.

How much CEF funding have school districts received?

Table 1 lists estimated CEF allocations for the past 5 school years.[2] The MECC only publishes estimated CEF figures. Locals can find individual district CEF amounts by checking their district’s audited financial statements (published on districts’ individual websites).

How is the CEF calculated?

The CEF general formula is: CEF = Staffing + Overhead + Remedies

Staffing[3]  = Number of staff needed to comply with class size and composition language

Overhead = Indirect costs associated with additional classrooms and staffing levels

Remedies[4] = Remedy allocation owed to teachers whose classes exceeded size or composition limits

Individual districts are responsible for implementing the CEF formula. The formula for remedy calculation can be found in LOU 12 from the BCTF Collective Agreement.[5]