BCTF urges more spending on education
Vancouver Sun
Janet Steffenhagen
September 29, 2008

The B.C. government needs to spend more on public schools and stop forcing boards of education to cover the bills for initiatives such as free summer school, adult literacy and pre-school learning.

That was the message the B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF) delivered today to the legislative committee that is touring the province to gather input prior to the next provincial budget.

… During her presentation to the committee, BCTF president Irene Lanzinger also called on government to eliminate child poverty, provide universal childcare, fund early literacy initiatives, restore services for special-needs children and reduce class size."The minister daily repeats the mantra that there is more funding for education than ever before (but) that does not reflect the reality in the classrooms," she said, referring to Education Minister Shirley Bond's frequent statements about education funding in B.C. being at the highest level ever.