Back to school met with concerns about rising inflation costs

This school year might call for tighter budgeting as parents are noticing an increase in daily necessities and back-to-school shopping.

Kirsten Ianson, a Surrey mom, says buying food for her growing family is where she’s seeing the most inflation in prices.

“Every month I’ll have to spend $30 extra on the gas prices compared to last year,” she said. “I still have to get their shoes, indoor shoes and outdoor shoes … and shirts I found there was a slight difference in the rates compared to last year,” she told CityNews.

Related Articles:

• B.C. teachers raise COVID concerns ahead of back to school

• B.C. Labour Day: Many government workers still without a contract

The concerns come as Statistics Canada announced the inflation rate hit 8.1 per cent in June, and 7.6 per cent in July on a year-over-year basis.

In an effort to address rising inflation, the Bank of Canada has been hiking its key interest rate.

One Surrey elementary school teacher says she’s noticed a systemic issue when it comes to living affordability amongst her students.

“Every year we have students that don’t have boots or lunches,” Holly Dickinson said. “While it’s wonderful the Government has come out and given some relief to the school board and parents this year, the issue of under-funding schools, and parents not being able to afford food, field trips, and supplies … we need to tackle this issue at a systemic level.”

Dickinson has gone out of her way to help her students.

“We are having to reach out to external agencies and food banks to get extra support for their families,” she said.

With some students going back to school without proper resources, Dickinson says they can have a hard time learning.

“All they’re thinking about is where they are going to get their next meal. They aren’t going to achieve the academic standards that their peers are,” she said.

Surrey Schools Support Workers says government funding per student hasn’t increased to match the current cost of living with inflation, as the City of Surrey’s population is growing.

President of the organization, Tammy Rebelo told CityNews that in the Surrey district especially, with over 75,000 students, the district needs more schools and more funding.

“They have a per capita funding in place for students right now. The government needs to fund more. With inflation [rising] … the cost hasn’t gone up for student funding,” she said.

While schools are appreciative of donations to help students who face financial barriers, Robelo says more work is needed to partner with community groups.

“We need to work with other community groups – businesses — in the area where we can help those folks that need money for school supplies and make sure our kids have a good education — it needs to be accessible for everyone,” she said.