TORONTO — Cash-starved schools in Ontario need a $2-billion cash injection over the next three years for everything from textbooks to teacher salaries, a key report on education funding recommended Tuesday.

Funding must be adequate to support the objectives that school boards, teachers and students are being asked to achieve, said Mordechai Rozanski, the Guelph University president appointed by the government to review the formula.

The most frequently cited criticism of the funding formula was the inadequacy of funding.

Rozanski's sweeping study on the way the province funds education paints a startling portrait of a school system that is strapped for cash in almost every area.

He notes that benchmarks within the funding formula -- which determine everything from how many guidance counsellors a school has to classroom supplies _ are at levels established in 1998.--
Updating the benchmarks will cost about $1.08 billion, the report says, and should be phased in over the next three years.

Other proposed investments, including school repair and special education, bring the total to $1.8 billion.

About $150 million for special education and transportation costs should be put into the system during the current school year, he said.

In addition, the government should provide money for teacher salary negotiations.

Rozanski did not suggest an amount. He said he didn't want to interfere with collective bargaining.

The funding formula was introduced by the Tory government in 1998, when school boards were stripped of their power to levy taxes and all school funding was centralized at the Ontario legislature.

The idea was that paying a flat amount for each pupil gave all students the same resources.

Critics, however, have repeatedly said it is inflexible and puts smaller schools and those with unique needs at a disadvantage.

Rozanski echoed that concern Tuesday.

One size does not fit all, he said. We must recognize that we have four distinct boards ... and that we live in a diverse province with distinct students reflecting different needs.

Still, he said people generally supported the funding formula as a way to determine education dollars, rather than the previous method of relying on school board levies.

The money he has recommended after several months of consultations would be in addition to the more than $14 billion the government has allocated for the system this school year.

Ontario Premier Ernie Eves has said Rozanski's report will not be put on a shelf and collect dust but has refused to say how much more money the government can commit to education.

I think that everybody operates under the assumption there's going to be some money recommended, Eves said as he headed into a caucus meeting before the report was released.

The question is how much .n.n. and for what purposes.

He was scheduled to respond later Tuesday.

The report was embraced, meanwhile, by the parent group People for Education.

I really do feel that parents' concerns, especially, were listened to, said spokeswoman Annie Kidder.

The group's only concern, she said, is that Rozanski gave the government three years to raise the funding levels.

Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty said the report details what his party has been saying all along.

We've been calling for this money for a long time, he said.<

(The Conservatives) have had seven years to fix public education.

Catholic trustees also welcomed the report and called on the government to act on it immediately.

Dr. Rozanski has clearly confirmed that addressing the serious financial difficulties faced by school boards starts with adequate funding, said Louise Ervin, president of the Ontario Catholic School Trustees' Association.

Rozanski has held public consultations in several cities across the province and has heard from hundreds of presenters with unique concerns.

On Tuesday, he recommended aboriginal students receive a new grant under the formula and also suggested more money for French-language boards to recognize higher costs.

To ensure long-term stability in the system, he urged the government to implement multi-year funding for school boards as promised in the spring Throne speech.

Rozanski also said the formula should be reviewed comprehensively every five years.