Enrolment drop hurting B.C. schools: minister

B.C.'s Education Minister says school boards should blame declining enrolment for their budget woes, not the provincial government.

The province has increased funding for schools year over year on a per student basis, but there's been a significant drop in the numbers of students, Margaret MacDiarmid said in Vancouver Thursday.

Of 60 school districts, 52 have seen a decline in the number of students enrolled over the past ten years, which MacDiarmid said should mean fewer staff.

'We don't need to be acting like a Third World country' —Vancouver parent Dawn Steele

"When you have 60,000 fewer students, clearly you don't need as many administrators and others working in that system," she said.

The Vancouver School Board says it's being forced to lay off 190 full time staff because of an $18-million shortfall.

The Vancouver board also said art and music programs, along with special education and English as a second language classes would be cut.

MacDiarmid said the board is "fear mongering," and should be looking for ways to "do things differently" in order to deal with its budget.

"Last year, for example, they were predicting an $8-million to $10-million deficit," said MacDiarmid. "They finished the year with almost a $17-million surplus and that has been happening every year." 

But Steve Cardwell, the superintendent of the Vancouver School District said the cuts would affect virtually every aspect of life in a school, from the length of the school year to transportation to science fairs, and even new paint on the walls.

This school district is facing one of the greatest challenges it has ever faced," said Cardwell.

No Vancouver school closures

Despite previous speculation, no school closures were listed in the proposed cuts revealed at a school board meeting Wednesday night.

Chris Harris, the president of the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers Association, blamed the provincial government for the cuts.

"Kids cannot take another round of cuts. The provincial government must do something about this rather than washing its hands of any responsibility," said Harris.

Dawn Steele, who has a special needs son in Grade 10, said the province that just hosted the Olympics is abandoning children.

"I find it incredible, unbelievable and horribly depressing, what it says about our priorities," said Steele.

"You know we can do better than that. We are Canadians. We don't need to be acting like a Third World country and abandoning kids because we have a bit of an economic crisis," she said.

The Vancouver School Board will be holding public consultations this month before casting a final vote on the proposed cuts on April 29. Times and locations can be found on the district's website.