In a letter published in The Citizen on Monday, the first vice-president of the Prince George District Teachers' Association made several inaccurate statements about government support for education in rural areas and our vision for the future of education.
I'd like to take this opportunity to set the record straight.
School District 57 has been provided with increases in operating funding year after year - from $6,660 per student in 2000-01 to an estimated $8,808 in 2010-11.
That's an increase of about 32 per cent, while over the same time frame, the number of students has dropped significantly, an expected enrolment decline of 25 per cent.
In addition, this year, our government is providing the district with an estimated $6.4 million in unique geographic factors funding, which recognizes factors such as climate, sparse population and small communities.
Our goal is to give all B.C. students access to the same learning opportunities, regardless of where they live in the province.
We know that B.C. has an excellent education system. We want to build on its strengths and make it even better for students.
We want to ensure our children have the necessary skills to really succeed in the 21st century.
We are working with our partners across the education sector to focus on the unique needs of our children - to help them discover their interests and passions.
Through personalized learning, we want to nurture the excitement students feel when they first arrive at school and continue to inspire that hunger for learning as they progress through the K-12 years.
Margaret MacDiarmid
minister of education
