Hansen releases ‘stay the course budget’
March 5, 2010
Sunshine Coast Reporter
Ian Jacques/Editor

Finance Minister Colin Hansen presented what some are calling the ‘stay the course’ budget ….Others counter it does little for health care, arts and culture and education...

In education, per-pupil funding for students in the K-12 levels will rise from $8,200 in 2009/10 to an estimated $8,301 for 2010/11.

Further supporting families and early-childhood education, the introduction of full-day kindergarten for five-year-olds is being phased in starting this September, and as it becomes fully operational, annual funding will rise to $129 million by 2012. In the post-secondary sector, funding remains stable at $1.88 billion in 2010/11.

School District No. 46 board chair Silas White said he is … relieved that per pupil funding has been increased and that there are funding mechanisms in place to pay for the teacher salary increases and full-day kindergarten….

New Democrat MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast Nicholas Simons said overall he felt “underwhelmed” by the budget and that not enough emphasis was put on education, health and social programs.

“I think the government was pre-occupied when they came in with the budget update in September. They started with the cuts then, and now they’ve continued those cuts,” Simons said….

“Boards across the province, combined with parents and teachers, lobbied hard for education, and I think that certainly helped,” he said. “Our school board appreciates the support from this community advocating on behalf of us.”…

Simons said health, environment and arts funding are all things he would have liked to see a greater emphasis on.

“It’s our responsibility as the official opposition to get the government to focus in on issues of concern,” Simons said. “The focus was not in the areas that I feel are priorities.”

When asked by Coast Reporter what his government would have done differently, Simons said that was a tough question.

“That’s a hard question because it’s not just up to one person, so I can’t fully answer that,” he said. “I do agree we need to propose ideas through discussion and debate, and we’ll continue to do that.”