Editor, The News
Despite advertisements to the contrary, the B.C. government continues to pay nothing for class size and class composition.
The Learning Improvement Fund is a government program earmarked to deal with class size and composition issues created by the illegal contract stripping in 2002 [BC Supreme Court (Griffin) 2011 and 2014].
The Learning Improvement Fund, $60 million paid to school boards in 2013-14, was to be used to hire specialist teachers, support staff, and special education assistants in order to decrease class sizes and improve class composition.
In the same school year, the Clark government inexplicably downloaded costs previously covered by Victoria, resulting in massive school board deficits of $60 M provincewide.
These deficits resulted in cuts to specialist teachers, support staff, and special education assistants, increasing class size, and negatively affecting students with special needs.
Similar cost downloads in 2012-13 resulted in similar school board deficits in that school year.
This net-zero shell game has to stop, Premier Clark. Provide the funding … our kids are too important!
Brent Crich
Maple Ridge