NDP would reduce school closures
Vancouver Sun
By Janet Steffenhagen
April 9, 2009

An NDP government would reduce school closures, fast-track seismic upgrades and allow teachers to bargain class size and composition caps, the party’s education critic said Thursday.

Speaking after the release of his party’s election platform, Norm Macdonald said New Democrats are committed to restoring full bargaining rights to the B.C. Teachers’ Federation. But in the meantime, they would enforce existing rules about class size and composition.

At present, thousands of classrooms do not conform to those rules because they have more than 30 students or more than three unsupported special-needs students.

Macdonald said he expects broad public support for restoring BCTF bargaining rights that were stripped in 2002 by the Liberal government. But he declined to speculate on whether the proposal would be backed by provincial organizations representing trustees, principals and parents….

The NDP also promised to hasten seismic upgrades with an extra $40 million in capital spending during each of the next two years. The party also said it would provide an additional $50 million, $75 million and $100 million over three years to improve resources and supports for students.

While the New Democrats were announcing their platform, the Education Ministry was issuing a flurry of news releases promising new school construction and StrongStart centres for pre-school children. The ministry said it was part of an accelerated capital plan intended to stimulate the economy.

By Thursday afternoon, the total number of Liberal announcements for the week had reached 30, with more expected before the election campaign officially begins April 14.

The NDP platform didn’t highlight new school construction but promised to slow school closures, which have been the source of much controversy since the Liberals were elected in 2001 and changed the funding formula. Those changes removed financial incentives to keep smaller schools open and 177 schools were closed subsequently.

Macdonald said the election of an NDP government wouldn’t end school closures but would encourage boards to make such decisions based on demographic trends, not budgetary crises.

The NDP also promised to increase the number of special-education teachers and teaching assistants, meet rising demands for psycho-educational assessments, offer more support for schools that aren’t meeting academic standards and provide multi-year funding to boards to ensure financial security.