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Dear MLA I Am Writing To Ask
Dear MLA I Am Writing To Ask
Dear MLA I Am Writing To Ask
I am writing to ask you to save our schools. Secretary Treasurers of school districts
across the province are warning of a funding crisis that will lead to school closures,
program cuts and major layoffs of teachers and other school staff in 2010/2011.
This is not a crisis created by Boards of Education. The province is in charge of how
much funding Boards of Education receive each year. The province also controls most of
the costs. The $300 million funding shortfall facing our public schools in 2010/2011
comes almost entirely from decisions made at the provincial level. These include:
Boards of Education are required to balance their budgets and deliver a high quality
education program to all children. They cannot do this unless the Province acts in a
fiscally responsible manner and covers the increased costs of operating schools. British
Columbians have repeatedly said they are willing to support their public schools.
In the 2009 Throne Speech, British Columbians heard: “Education is the best economic
development and health promotion program ever invented. In tight economic times, it is
only smart to maintain and expand educational investments.”
It’s time the provincial government lived up to its responsibility and stopped cutting
school programs, closing rural and small schools and leaving behind children who need
extra support to succeed. Improving public education is the best investment a society
can make in its own future. We cannot continue to short-change the children of this
province without serious consequences.
I ask you to demand that provincial funding for public schools be immediately increased.
At a minimum this increase must cover all new provincially imposed costs. Without this
increase, our local Boards cannot be expected to deliver balanced budgets without
harming the quality of public education offered to children in British Columbia.
Yours truly,
Address:
British Columbia Society for Public
Education
Protecting the integrity of BC's public schools
www.bcspe.ca February/March
2010