Class Notes: Doom and gloom
Vancouver Courier
Naoibh O'Connor
November 13, 2009

The Vancouver School Board is projecting a $600,000 surplus for the 2009/2010 school year thanks to a higher than expected student enrolment, according to a staff report to the finance and legal committee earlier this week….

It sounds like good news, but not to Sharon Gregson, Vision Vancouver chair of the finance and legal committee.

She pointed out the board made $7 million in cuts when planning for the 2009/10 school year and more cuts loom for the 2010/11 school year.

"It's a tiny amount compared to where we started out this school year... If you think of the $600,000 compared to losing $10 million in the [annual facilities grant], we're not even in the same ballpark," she added. "So yes, we've been given a slightly better enrolment than predicted and thank goodness we have because look at the underfunding that public education is going through in our district and every other district."…

… "As one of the people around the table said, this is the time to start asking the citizens of Vancouver some provocative questions about what they want the public education system to look like--not just teachers and not just parents, but the citizens of Vancouver."

Committee members discussed how to galvanize the public to speak on behalf of public education and how to make consultation for the coming budget meaningful when massive cuts may be expected.