Pressure on parents as B.C. school funding drops, cuts get deeper
The Province
By John Bermingham
October 6, 2009  

Parents are having to pick up the tab to cover school-funding shortfalls out of their own pockets, according to the head of the group representing B.C.’s school parents.

Provincial education cuts will limit field trips, curtail grad ceremonies and sideline school sports, Ann Whiteaker, president of the B.C. Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils, said Wednesday. And there will be more pressure on parents to raise money, after the loss of gaming revenues for parent advisory groups.

“That’s just being transferred now to parents,” said Whiteaker, who has signed a joint letter along with the heads of teacher, school trustee and school trades groups protesting the cuts to B.C. Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid.

Upset parents, especially in rural areas, want to reverse the B.C. government cuts.

“There’s a huge outcry,” she said. “Many are asking for more action.”

For the first time, parents have teamed up with the heads of other key education groups, joined by the union representing school maintenance workers.

“Through this letter, parents, school workers, teachers and trustees have come together to ask you to reverse these damaging cuts,” the letter states….

“It’s going to affect classroom sizes,” said Connie Denesiuk, president of the B.C. School Trustees Association, who signed the letter. Many districts are laying off tradespeople.

“We start to worry about kids falling through the cracks,” said Denesiuk.

Another signatory, Irene Lanzinger, president of the B.C. Teacher’s Federation, has asked for a meeting with MacDiarmid and B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell….