Mark NIELSEN Citizen staff
School board trustee Sharel Warrington has provided the B.C. School Trustees Association (BCSTA) some advice in advance of talks between the organization and the provincial government over how the funding system could be improved.
A letter to the BCSTA touches on six topics but Warrington, who chairs the board's management and finance committee, gave some extended comment on so-called "grey area" students, when speaking to fellow trustees on Tuesday night.
Such students are those who have mild mental challenges, learning disabilities and moderate behaviour challenges and so, are not quite considered to be special needs.
As a result, funding for such students is now imbedded in the basic allocation of $5,308 per student.
Warrington said it compromises the school districts' ability to hire assistants to help teacher with such students, not only in Prince George but around the province.
"We really believe and know and understand the concern teachers are making towards the need for additional funding in those areas and we're making a recommendation that those areas be addressed in the funding formula," Warrington said.
On a related issued, Warrington also noted the funding formula does not recognize neighbourhoods deemed to have a high percentage of "vulnerable" students or those who are ill-prepared to attend school largely because of issues at home.
The letter also touched on funding for school districts with declining enrollment, remote and rural schools, transportation and learning programs from the province.
On funding for schools for declining enrollment, Warrington suggested that while such money should be eliminated it should be done so over two or three years and with that money put back into either general block funding or into other areas facing cost pressure.
On remote and rural schools, Warrington said the funding formula should provide "some weighting" to keep such schools open and on transportation, she noted that other than a 2.6-per-cent increase, the provinces' contribution to busing has not increased in a decade.
School District 57 spends about $500,000 more on busing than is provided by Victoria and some districts face as much as a $2.5-million overrun, she noted.
Regarding new provincial learning programs and innovations, Warrington said there must be appropriate funding.
"We must not expect that the funding for new innovation come from our current funding formula, and we are asking that there be more flexible funding allocations and rules," Warrington told trustees.
