Richmond School Board cuts 94 jobs
April 20, 2010
CBC News

Concerned parents and teachers turned out for the school board meeting in Richmond on Monday night.

The Richmond School Board voted to cut nearly a hundred jobs on Monday night, in an effort to rein in a $6 million budget shortfall.

In total 94 full-time positions will be eliminated in the district south of Vancouver, including youth workers, educational assistants, and resource teachers serving children with emotional and physical problems.

School trustee Donna Sargent blamed B.C.'s Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid for the cuts.

"I think its disgusting the minister says we're getting more funding than we have, ever, and yet in the last two years we've had to cut $13 million. I just don't understand that and how she can't be accountable," said Sargent.

School boards across B.C. say their expenses are increasing faster than their funding, and many are considering school closures, lay-offs and program cuts.

But in a letter to a local newspaper, MacDiarmid said the Richmond School Board is getting more money this year — not less — and that on a per-student level, funding is at its highest levels ever in the province.