Vancouver and Burnaby school districts expect funding cuts

Premier-designate Christy Clark’s pledge to put B.C. families first on her agenda will be put to the test soon.

According to Patti Bacchus and Larry Hayes, chairs of the Vancouver and Burnaby school boards, respectively, that opportunity will come when the Ministry of Education announces in mid March the funding allocations for the 60 school districts across the province.

Vancouver and Burnaby are anticipating budget shortfalls for fiscal year 2011–12. Like a number of school districts in B.C., in previous years they had to reduce services in order to balance their budgets, as required by provincial legislation.

“But we certainly hope that with a new [government] leader, they’ll take a closer look,” Bacchus told the Georgia Straight in a phone interview. “If there’s a commitment to putting families first, one of the best ways of doing that is to ensure that all students and all children have access to education programs that fully meet their needs.”

Ninety-five percent of the Vancouver school board’s annual budget of about $500 million comes from provincial grants.

For the next school year, which starts in September, Bacchus said that the cost of delivering the same programs and services as in the current year will increase by $11.8 million. Without a corresponding increase in provincial funding, the board will have to cut expenditures by the same amount.

For the current year’s budget, the board had to reduce a number of services to make up for a $17.2-million shortfall.

An information paper released by the Vancouver school board explains why education districts in B.C. face chronic budget problems.

“The reason for chronic underfunding is clear: a per-student funding formula introduced in 2002/2003 that does not fund cost increases regularly faced by districts, nor fixed costs that remain constant with small changes in enrolment,” the document said.

These costs include salary adjustments, the increasing cost of employee benefits, inflation costs, and other facility and district-administration expenses.

Clark served as education minister from 2001 to 2004, and Burnaby’s Hayes, a three-term school trustee, isn’t impressed by her track record.

“There didn’t seem to be a lot of willingness on the government’s part, and on the minister, Ms. Clark’s, part at the time, to engage in any positive conversation in looking towards solutions to things,” Hayes told the Straight in a phone interview. “So it’s certainly nice to hear some of what’s being said, what some of her sound bites are now. But I think there’s probably a general concern based on what we’ve seen in the past. Hopefully, we see a positive change.”

According to Hayes, the Burnaby school board is anticipating a budget shortfall of $4 million to $5 million for the next school year. For 2010–11, the board had to spread cuts totalling about $4 million across its programs.

Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid didn’t grant a request for an interview before deadline.

According to the status quo provincial budget unveiled last month by Finance Minister Colin Hansen, operations funding for school districts will remain constant at $4.7 billion. It is generally understood that the B.C. budget released in February will be revised once a new government leader takes over.

A news release from the Finance Ministry states that per-student funding in the K-12 levels is “estimated to increase to $8,357 for 2011-12, the highest ever”.

“The government spends over $24 million per school day on education programs and services to support B.C. students across the province,” the ministry statement reads.

Because of funding problems it was facing, the Vancouver school board last year identified 11 schools that may be considered for closure. The list was later pared down to five elementary schools. Following protests, mainly by parents and children, the board adopted a moratorium on proceeding with any school closures until March 1, 2012.

When the Straight reached Bacchus on February 28, she admitted that she had gotten a number of calls that day asking whether or not she would challenge Clark for a seat in the legislature if the newly elected B.C. Liberal leader decided to run in a by-election in Vancouver–Point Grey.

Outgoing premier Gordon Campbell has indicated that he will give up his Vancouver–Point Grey seat if Clark wants it.

“I wasn’t really planning to do that, but there does seem to be some level of interest in at least my considering the option,” Bacchus said. She says she hasn’t made a decision yet.