Budget miscalculation puts strain on schools
Globe and Mail, BC
Justine Hunter
Victoria
Jan. 13, 2010

Higher-than-expected enrolment in B.C. public schools this year has blown a $32-million hole in the province's education resources. In its September budget, the province expected the number of students to drop by 7,000 compared with the previous school year. Late last month, a tally of students in the classrooms showed the projections were off: Total enrolment has declined by just 3,500 students.

Now, the Education Ministry must dip into its “holdback” fund to pay the additional education costs – an average of $8,200 per pupil. That leaves less cash to distribute at the end of the school year to address other funding shortfalls.

It's just the latest fiscal crunch in a sector that's already been hit with cuts and is now facing a fresh pile of bills….The B.C. government's last budget included an increase of $84-million in education funding for the current school year, but with all the added pressures, school budgets are still grappling with significant shortfalls.

The math is simple: “The costs associated with everything to do with running a school district has increased and the ministry funding has not kept up,” said Susan Lambert, vice-president of the B.C. Teachers' Federation…. Although the province has pledged $44-million to pay for additional kindergarten teachers, Ms. Lambert said there are no funds to develop an all-day curriculum or to pay for extra supplies. “We're concerned that the government is rolling out all-day K in a year when they are cutting back all other programs.”

In Richmond, the school district is preparing space for 639 all-day kindergarten spots at the same time it wrestles down a deficit of $5-million to $9-million.

Competition for the all-day option may be fierce: Just 20 of Richmond's 38 elementary schools will offer all-day kindergarten, and there are an estimated 1,300 eligible pupils.

“Those spots will be at a premium,” Ms. Lambert predicted….

Ms. Pamer welcomes the all-day expansion but said there are big budget challenges overall…. “But it's not a good year financially. I would anticipate layoffs and some pretty serious issues with the budget.”

Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid said the school districts will have to make do with the existing budget, but predicted the deficits won't be as large as threatened.“I think the funding we provided is going to work,” she said. “All the school districts know the ministry can't put in great amounts of new funding, we have to be realistic.”