An open letter to our MLAs and the Minister of Education Mr. Campbell claims to have five major goals and the first one is for B.C. to become the best-educated, most-literate jurisdiction in North America. I cannot see how this goal can be met until the government admits that there is a serious problem with how our education system is funded.
When Mr. Campbell changed the funding formula to per-pupil tuition he set the groundwork for the demise of our rural and neighborhood schools. The only schools that will survive will be mega-schools in highly-populated areas. Many children will be on buses for up to three hours to get to and from these centers of learning. To claim that educational funding has increased year after year by only quoting per-student tuition is the government's way of misleading the public and a refusal to take any responsibility for the current situation.
No consideration for our northern winters was given when they introduced the carbon tax. To make matters worse, they clawed back the annual facilities grant that would allow us to retrofit our schools to reduce our carbon footprint. HST tax - underfunded. MSP increases- not funded. Contracted pay increases - not funded. Class size and composition agreements - underfunded. Full time kindergarten - underfunded. These and more costs continue to be downloaded onto our school boards which are told to be "creative".
We need MLA's and ministers to stand up for our communities and our children's education. Stop hiding behind "increased funding year after year". Fourteen schools to be closed or reconfigured in School District 57 alone. More will follow next year until we are left with a few full to the brim schools and a whole lot of carbon emissions from all those buses.
Kirsten Zogas
Prince George
For the complete "smart-version" of the Prince George Citizen visit our Digital Edition.
