MLA responds to Education Minister

March 11, 2009

Letter to the Editor:

In last week’s Golden Star, Education Minister Shirley Bond again proved that she just can’t get out of her message box.  Instead of talking about real classrooms in real schools she touts numbers and data.  But in doing so, she completely misses the point.

Government decisions over the last eight years have downloaded more and more costs to school districts.  What the Minister fails to admit is that even with the increase in per student funding, the cost responsibilities held by school districts are still not being met.  In real terms, that means there must be more cuts to services to kids in classrooms.

The Minister knows this.  In recent meetings between the BC School Trustees Association and the Minister school boards were told to make $12 million in cuts.  The funding that will be provided to school districts will not cover cost increases related to staff salary increments, benefits, transportation, inflation and the ever expanding mandate put on school districts by the Ministry.

The BC School Trustees Association passed a resolution this past weekend calling on the BC Liberal government to properly fund public education so that they will not have to make more cuts.  Everyone involved in education understands just how dire things have become.

Statistics Canada data indicates that British Columbia has the worst teacher/student ratio in the country; that is bigger classes with fewer teachers.  No government with education as its priority would choose to be last on this list.

Any discussion about budgeting can be easily lost in numbers, and that is why the Minister only talks about numbers.  But for regular people, the educational experience for children is what is most important.  Trustees, parents, teachers and parent advisory groups all say we need to provide more resources for special education support and provide diagnostic testing sooner.

The wisest investment we can make is in our children’s education.  In a time of economic turmoil it is vital that we be sure to get the basics right.  Having a public school system that provides the best opportunity for every child is a long-term investment in our society that will provide economic benefits for generations.

Norm Macdonald MLA
Columbia River - Revelstoke