Teachers shouldn’t be stuck with bill for art supplies, snacks for students: advocate
Posted March 23, 2019 6:27 pm.
Last Updated March 23, 2019 10:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — An education advocate is demanding the province do more to help teachers provide for their students.
Carrie Bercic says teachers are often left to buy supplies like paper, costumes and even food for their classrooms.
“After recess, the grade one and two children come into the classroom and they go and get a snack, which is usually apples or oranges,” she says. “That is all purchased by the teacher.”
In Canada, teachers can apply for a federal 15 per cent refundable tax credit on an amount up to $1,000 a year for some teaching supplies.
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But Bercic says paying for the supplies is something teachers may feel compelled to do.
“What I know has happened, is teachers and other staff members who work with kids, and who love the students they work with, they see a need,” she says. “How can you be in a class with 15 kids and know that some of them are hungry?”
Bercic says it’s an added cost many teachers can’t afford, and the province should set up a dedicated fund for these items instead of expecting teachers to do so.
Some Parent Advisory Councils (PACs) in B.C. offer up money from their fundraising activities for teacher supplies.
– With files from Renee Bernard
