School District 43 trustees have their work cut out for them to convince local Liberal MLA Douglas Horne that the district is underfunded and students here are treated unfairly.
Tuesday, after passing a balanced budget that continues $13.8 million in cuts made last year, board chair Judy Shirra promised to reveal an advocacy plan soon. She also listed off what she called $30 million in budget reductions since 2013/14.
However, the MLA for Coquitlam-Burke Mountain said he didn't understand how the district came up with that figure although he said he has a great relationship with the current trustees and promises to work to ensure Tri-Cities students get their fair share of funding.
Horne did, however, acknowledge that the district is facing cost pressures, but said it wasn't alone. "There's cost pressures across government, we're one of the few provinces that have a balanced budget."
And while the district counts the administrative savings it's required to find ($1.5 million in 2015/16 and $1.4 million in 2016/17) as a reduction in funding, Horne said it's better to put money into the classrooms rather than administrative costs.
HIGH ACHIEVEMENT AMONG B.C. STUDENTS HORNE
He said B.C.'s continuing high graduation and achievement rates are an indication that students are performing well and teachers are doing a good job, and SD43's per pupil funding is not that far out of sync with other Metro Vancouver school districts that don't have the high transportation costs and other issues faced by smaller, rural districts.
He says SD43 is also fortunate in that it has a relatively stable student population compared to other districts where student numbers are decline.
"I recognize the issues they are facing, I will continue to do my best with what I can do, obviously capital resources, we are continuing to see huge capital flowing in our district, we will be working with the funding formula and with the funding protection to make sure the students in Coquitlam get best share they can."
On Tuesday, April 21, the board of education unanimously passed a balanced $316 million budget bylaw that included operating spending, special purpose funds and local capital, and Shirra said she would soon talk with groups about about a plan to advocate more funds. "It's status quo," she told The News, "We're not pleased about it."
Among the changes planned in the budget is contracting out of cafeteria services for five non-teaching high school cafeterias, so staff could go to more high needs areas, such as clerical and education assistants, if CUPE training and other needs are met. Some savings were found in utilities for next year, with a new way to purchase natural gas, and the province is funding wage increases from recent CUPE and teachers' settlements.
Fees foreign students pay to attend schools here are also helping the district cover its costs, with the district anticipating more students from other countries enrolling in SD43 schools.
