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VSB budget battle: a question of risks and rewards

The Vancouver School Board could not have chosen a better time to pick a fight with the province over education funding. But it is not without risk for any possible reward, which I will get to in a moment.
VSB
Allen Garr: The longer it takes for the Vancouver board and the province to reach a compromise — some reward for their determination — the more likely there will be some turmoil. Photo Dan Toulgoet

The Vancouver School Board could not have chosen a better time to pick a fight with the province over education funding. But it is not without risk for any possible reward, which I will get to in a moment.

Last week, Green Party trustee Janet Fraser joined the four Vision members to defeat the staff’s balanced budget proposal to make cuts to eliminate a $24- million deficit. At the time Fraser made it clear it was her intention to turn educational underfunding into a province-wide issue in next year’s provincial election.

In fact, if you cast about the province, you can see a growing number of school boards from Quesnel to Armstrong to the Kootenays all saying the province is seriously underfunding education and causing them to cut programs or shut down schools.

The small town of Osoyoos will have to close its only high school and ship its kids by bus to Oliver now that the regional school board narrowly approved shutting the facility down to meet the province’s demands for a balanced budget. The Prince George School Board was considering charging parents $100 bucks a kid so they can ride on the board’s school bus each day.

And a number of school boards, including Vancouver’s, have protested the millions in costs because of provincial downloads.

Saanich’s board, for the second year in a row, produced a budget deducting these downloads. They include increases in Medical Service Plan premiums, Wi-Fi the province originally said it would cover, Hydro rate increases, administrative and support staff wage settlements (negotiated by the province), as well as teachers’ salary increments, carbon offsets and, of course, inflation, none of which are being compensated for by provincial transfers.

It may be accurate for B.C.’s Minister of Education Mike Bernier to insist that “we have record funding in British Columbia” for primary and secondary education. It is equally accurate, according to the most recent Statistics Canada figures, that when it comes to per-student funding, B.C. is practically at the bottom of the pile; we are second lowest and about $1,000 per student below the national average.

All of this is taking place, critics are quick to tell you, while millions of tax dollars are being pumped into private schools. The government is more interested in the natural resource of LNG development than our children.

And, because it is in the nature of political battles during election campaigns, you will be advised that while school boards are being forced to make cuts to our children’s educational experience, Premier Christy Clark is taking care of her own future; she’s entertaining rich supporters at private $20,000-a-plate dinners and getting her own salary topped up from “commissions” for her work by the provincial Liberal Party to the tune of $50,000 a year.

Meanwhile, Tuesday afternoon (and after my deadline) the Minister and his deputy were expected to meet in Victoria with Vancouver School Board chair Mike Lombardi, vice chair Janet Fraser and school superintendent Scott Robinson.

The following day there would be an in camera meeting of Vancouver’s school trustees to review Tuesday’s session.

Now the risks: Bernier (with Christy Clark’s blessing) takes a political chance and tells the Vancouver board to make the cuts outlined in the recent government-funded audit, including shutting down a bunch of schools. He could also continue to insist that they meet their statutory obligation; a balanced budget by June 30, by making whatever staffing and program cuts that requires.

Bernier could also, as NPA trustee Penny Noble noted when she voted in favour of the balanced budget last week, fire all the trustees and replace them with his own person who would make “brutal” cuts. It has happened in Vancouver before, back in 1986 when Vancouver’s COPE school board was dumped. And four years ago, the province kicked out the Cowichan School Board.

But say that doesn’t happen; the longer it takes for the Vancouver board and the province to reach a compromise — some reward for their determination — the more likely there will be some turmoil. We are at the point in the year where administrators are trying to figure out whether, based on funding and student population, which courses can be taught and how many staffers may have to get lay-off notices. None of that has been decided yet and the June 30 deadline for a balanced budget still looms.

agarr@vancourier.com

 @allengarr