I felt it necessary to write and clarify some of the points made in your recent editorial, "Unneeded Staff?". This school board well understood the enrollment decline and funding drop they were facing and had a prudent three year plan that included dramatic staff cuts in order to negate the looming deficit while maintaining stability in our schools. That plan was destroyed by a government in panic who refuses to communicate with local trustees and who continues to download unfunded costs to the public education system. The plan was to cut nearly $4 million next year and now it is over $7 million due to new funding cuts.
As to your points the board has too many employees I am in partial agreement. This fall, through several public presentations, the school board was shown that compared to other school districts of similar size we have far too many administrators in our board office and that a board office with more than 100 staff is a waste of precious funding that should be in classrooms. On this we agree. What I disagree with is your assumption that there are more than 30 excess teachers. The board has employed more teachers in order to keep class sizes manageable and below the unworkable, legislated maximums. This directly supports better learning conditions for the students of School District 57. Those teachers are in classrooms with students and not in offices with paperwork. Surely, that is where taxpayers want their tax dollars to go.
Philip Rice
second vice - president
Prince George District
Teachers Association.
