The Editor,
Re. "Chevron $ up for the taking in Tri-Cities" (The Tri-City News, Nov. 21).
As a parent of two young children in the Tri-Cities, I was disappointed to learn of the Coquitlam Teachers' Association's position towards receiving money from Chevron's Fuel your School initiative. The union provided three reasons for not seeking funding and there are issues with all three:
Reporter Diane Strandberg wrote: "[Fuel your School]... was opposed by the BCTF... on the grounds that it replaces funding that should be provided by the provincial government." The BCTF just finished a five-month strike and salaries were a huge part of the contract negotiation. If the provincial government were to increase resources for education, that additional funding would almost certainly go to salaries and not to enhancing classrooms. The Chevron program differs in that funding goes directly to the classroom and does not need the support of taxpayers, unions or administrators.
CTA president Charley King is quoted as saying, "I always find it concerning when private corporations offer money with no strings attached. There are strings attached in terms of people competing for a small pot of money." This comment is ridiculous. First, a competitive process is not a negative thing - it ensures that the best proposals are supported. Second, it's not a small pot of money, it is $100,000 (a year). That pays for a lot of classroom-enhancement projects and there are very few opportunities for teachers to apply for that sort of funding. Finally, Chevron supports projects that are posted on the crowdfunding website myclassneeds.ca. It does not give the money directly to schools and does not impose expectations on teachers.
Mr. King goes says: "If Chevron wants to be a good neighbour, I think they should pay their fair share of taxes. Ordinary families pay enough and oil companies are making record profits." This gets to the crux of the problem. Chevron employs 250-plus people and another 200 contractors in the Lower Mainland. It pays the taxes it owes, including millions to the federal, provincial and municipal governments. Its carbon tax bill alone is $9 million. Yes, the company makes a lot of money but we live in a capitalist society not a communist one. Mr. King's stance on the issue can only be seen as a personal bias against the petroleum industry and he is allowing his bias to trump his responsibilities as an educator.
As a parent and an educator, I strongly encourage teachers to apply for the funding available through Fuel for School. Opportunities like this one are rare, and if educators don't apply for the money, it is possible that the program will be terminated.
If the teacher's unions have issues with the amount of funding, the application process or Chevron's expectations, it makes more sense to work with Chevron to sort out those issues rather than disregard the program entirely.
Shahin Dashtgard, Port Moody
