Jane Bouey.

By Jane Bouey

At the British Columbia School Trustees Association’s annual general meeting in April, trustees called on the Gordon Campbell government to redirect funding from private schools to public education. This request comes in the wake of massive school-board budget shortfalls across B.C., largely because the government keeps downloading extra costs. The Vancouver school board alone is looking at $18.2 million in cuts.

Trustees seemed to be on the same page—shouldn’t public funding go to public schools?

A week later, Lisa Reimer, a lesbian teacher at Little Flower Academy, a private Catholic school, was allegedly fired for being gay.

Reimer was denied parental leave and told to take 15 days of sick leave when her partner’s baby was born. She was also instructed to keep silent about her sexual orientation and family status. She adhered to this request, despite recent claims by LFA that she talked about her “lifestyle” with students.

Upon returning to work, Reimer was dismissed with pay until the end of the school year. She was not allowed contact with students and their families, and ordered not to set foot on campus.

Glen Hansman, a vice-president with the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers’ Association, has stated, “This kind of discrimination and homophobia could never happen in a public school. This case is a clear example why private schools should not receive any kind of public funding whatsoever. All teachers have the right to a safe and accepting workplace. Catholic schools should be no different.”

The timing of Reimer’s dismissal is particularly ironic. One of the cuts the VSB must consider is support for queer students, employees, and families.

Vancouver has been a leader in anti-homophobia, anti-transphobia diversity work. When I was on the COPE school board from 2002 to 2005, we established a pride advisory committee, and developed and implemented comprehensive policy to ensure that queer youth, employees, and families feel safe and welcomed in Vancouver schools. We hired an anti-homophobia and diversity consultant, who is out in our schools, supporting students, and educating staff. Since most students who are victims of homophobic slurs identify as straight, this work supports the safety of all students.

Now, due to a staggering funding shortfall, this position is to be reduced to a less than half-time position.

By definition, public schools are more inclusive, diverse, and democratic than private schools. They could be more inclusive and democratic, and more engaging. They certainly could serve certain student populations a heck of a lot better. (Look at the graduation rates of aboriginal students for one glaring example.) However, school boards do keep trying to meet public education’s potential.

However, much of what makes Vancouver schools among the best in the world is now at risk. Since 2002, accumulated shortfalls of more than $50 million have impacted the VSB budget. Like other districts around the province, cuts in Vancouver are now attacking the heart and soul of education.

The VSB now faces massive staff layoffs (more than 300 layoff notices were sent out on May 4), and reductions and elimination of many programs and services—including support for inner city, special needs, and ESL students. Threatened are both the necessary supports for students who otherwise cannot learn, and programs that enhance and provide alternatives that truly engage the learner.

The VSB has been assigned a “special advisor” by the province to investigate our finances. The auditor was given instructions to get trustees’ bios, and to investigate governance, but not to look into whether the system is truly under-funded, as the trustees, teachers, students and parents maintain. Looking at the terms of reference, many wonder if the very concept of elected school boards is actually being reviewed.

Across the province, starved boards are closing down schools, and eroding services to students. There is word that in some rural areas where schools have been shut down, parents are being encouraged by the province to set up “independent” (private) schools. I hear more stories than ever about parents of special needs children, no longer able get support in the public system, being encouraged to enroll them in private schools.

A recent poll by the B.C. Society for Public Education shows 65 percent disagree with public funding for private schools. The poll was taken before many British Columbians learned from the recent news stories that our public tax dollars go to private schools. Since 2001, the Liberals have been quietly increasing private school funding, while refusing to cover increasing costs for the public system.

It’s time to seriously look at taxpayer funding for private schools. By redirecting some of that money, we could hit two birds with one stone—improve public school education and set a higher standard for education and human rights.

Jane Bouey is a Coalition of Progressive Electors trustee on the Vancouver school board.