Burnaby Teachers urging B.C. gov’t to immediately increase education funding

As the Burnaby School District cuts band and language programs, high school counsellors, and some other positions due to a $4.2 million budget shortfall, the district’s teachers’ association is urging the province to immediately increase funding for public education.

Burnaby Teachers’ Association president Alex Peters tells 1130 NewsRadio that due to the cuts, some daytime custodial positions at elementary schools will move to an on-call basis only.

Peters explains that janitors would have to be called in to clean up messes, including bathroom accidents or vomiting incidents, after they happen.

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According to the district’s budget, “Currently, there are 34 FTE of custodian positions providing services to elementary schools during the school day. Additional staff are in place during the evening to ensure schools are cleaned in preparation for the next school day. An adjustment is proposed to maintain elementary day-time custodians in 6 elementary schools, but these positions in all other elementary schools would be removed and replaced with a 0.5 FTE evening shift to ensure the required levels of cleaning are met.”

But it’s not just biohazards that Peters says will be affected by the slashing of custodial services.

“There’s also a lot of work that custodians do in the morning to get the school safe, like checking outside for anything unsafe around the school, which could be like sharp needles, or broken glass — there isn’t going to be anyone able to do that in the mornings.”

Peters says the school district is running out of money because it has had to dedicate a lot of resources to adding portable classrooms due to overcrowding in schools.

The school district previously shared that it had a rainy day fund of more than $10 million a few years ago. Now, $7.5 million has been spent on portables alone.

“Three full-time counsellors in secondary schools were cut, as well as the Grade 7 band program has been eliminated this year. There’s approximately 1,200 students that were participating in the program,” Peters explained. “They’ve also started the phasing out of the Mandarin language arts program, which is similar to a French Immersion program, as well as the advanced learning programs.”

Peters explains that the program cuts have a huge impact on students’ learning experiences, especially those who are in specialized education.

“Students really benefit from these enrichment programs … they’re going to be having to be reintegrated into their neighbourhood schools, which then denies them the opportunities, as well as creates more challenges, because there isn’t any extra supports provided to those students similar to what they receive in the programs,” she said.

When voting on the district’s budget at the end of May, board chair Kristin Schnider shared that the budget approval wasn’t values-based and instead was forced due to the school board’s legal obligation.

“We do not want to do these cuts. This is the financial situation that we’re in, and it is devastating, to be completely blunt. None of us signed up to be trustees to cut vital programs and services across the District. However, we are legally required to balance this budget,” she explained.

“The sad reality is that we do not have the money, anymore, to subsidize the public education system as it is, and it leads us to these difficult situations that we’re in today. There is a chronic underfunding of public education in this province, and the people who are hurt the most by this are children, and that’s not lost on us,” Schinder added.

All school districts facing similar funding shortfalls: Burnaby Teachers’ Association

Peters goes on to say that school districts across the province are facing similar issues, and the provincial government needs to step in and increase funding.

She notes the NDP government had originally promised during last year’s election to provide a mental health counsellor in every school and an Educational Assistant in every primary classroom — a far cry from the budget cuts to important programs.

“We’re asking [the province] to increase the funding for education. So increasing the per-pupil funding for all students in the province, because it has not kept up with inflation, as well as all the extra costs. … Everything is costing a bit more now, and the increase to education funding has not increased at the same percentage,” Peters said.

But Peters says the Teachers’ Association isn’t expecting a different response from the province than they gave the Surrey School District when it too passed a budget that saw deep funding cuts to elementary band programs, educational assistant positions, and learning centres for children with extra needs.

“All school districts in the province need more money. It’s not just one school district that’s not understanding how to use their money. There’s just not enough funding put forward for public education in B.C.,” she explained.

In a statement to 1130 NewsRadio, the Ministry of Education and Child Care says it is “committed to ensuring that every child can access a quality learning environment and B.C.’s school districts have the resources they need to meet the needs of todays’ students.”

“The Province has consistently made education a top priority by making strong investments each year since 2017. Next year, the ministry is projecting the highest education funding ever—over $8.2 billion. Average per-student funding has increased by nearly 50% since 2017, to over $13,600. This money goes directly to the places and people working hard for education in B.C.,” it added.

The Ministry says the Burnaby School District received more than $344 million in what it calls “base funding and special grants.”

“Even with the incredible political and fiscal challenges of today, the Province’s recent budget protected the core funding for education and increased it by over $300 million,” it added.

“As B.C.’s school system has a co-governance model, the Minister meets regularly with B.C.’s education partners to listen, address concerns, and find solutions together.

“Burnaby Teachers’ Association is doing important work, advocating for their school community,” it added.