B.C. NDP says it's time to change how money is doled out for new schools

The leader of the B.C. NDP says the current funding model for building new schools in the province is fundamentally flawed and needs to be changed.

"It's not working," John Horgan said.

"You can talk to trustees, you can talk to teachers and you can talk to parents. It's not working for them. They're not getting the quality education for their children and we need to address that."

Horgan says his party will explain how it will change the system during the election campaign.

City council and the Surrey Board of Education both say the problem is using current enrolment numbers to determine funding doesn't take projected growth into account.

They say Surrey is growing so fast new communities are popping up faster than schools can be built and that is leading to overcrowded classrooms.

Mayor Linda Hepner and the board are working on a proposal for a new formula.

Liberals on board

The B.C. Liberals announced the creation of 2,700 new classroom spaces in Surrey earlier this year.

At the time, Premier Christy Clark said she was open to changing the formula.

"Growth is very uneven and the majority of districts are seeing shrinking enrolment," Clark said.

"The vast majority of districts in the province, I think we need to have a good look at the way we decide when we will be funding a new school and make sure that it accommodates school districts that are growing as quickly as this one."

The Surrey School District expects to have more than 71,000 students this year, which is about a thousand more than last year's total.

There are nearly 275 portables in the city.