Enrolment drop hurting B.C. schools: minister
Minister accuses Vancouver School Board of fear-mongering
April 8, 2010
CBC News

The Vancouver School Board is looking at laying off 190 staff and teachers to deal with an $18-million budget shortfall.

B.C.'s Education Minister says school boards should blame declining enrolment for their budget woes, not the provincial government….

Of 60 school districts, 52 have seen a decline in the number of students enrolled over the past ten years, which MacDiarmid said should mean fewer staff….

The Vancouver board also said art and music programs, along with special education and English as a second language classes would be cut.

MacDiarmid said the board is "fear mongering," and should be looking for ways to "do things differently" in order to deal with its budget….

But Steve Cardwell, the superintendent of the Vancouver School District said the cuts would affect virtually every aspect of life in a school, from the length of the school year to transportation to science fairs, and even new paint on the walls…

Chris Harris, the president of the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers Association, blamed the provincial government for the cuts.

"Kids cannot take another round of cuts. The provincial government must do something about this rather than washing its hands of any responsibility," said Harris.

Dawn Steele, who has a special needs son in Grade 10, said the province that just hosted the Olympics is abandoning children.

"I find it incredible, unbelievable and horribly depressing, what it says about our priorities," said Steele.

"You know we can do better than that. We are Canadians. We don't need to be acting like a Third World country and abandoning kids because we have a bit of an economic crisis," she said….