Editor:
Re: Editorial “Cuts like a knife” (Coast Reporter, March 27)
Thank you for your strong editorial about provincial cuts to public education. “Where is SD46 going to find its share of … $54 million in ‘administrative savings?’” you ask. As a teacher and a parent, I agree that the education every student is entitled to is at risk. I see first hand in the classroom how budget cuts each year impact my students.
Next year, there will not be as many books bought. Maybe we will run out of paper. Some hungry students get a free cafeteria card at my school to buy lunch. I hope there is enough money for free cards next year. Our school board chair, Betty Baxter, wrote a letter last week to Minister of Finance de Jong telling him that our district has used up any administrative savings long ago.
In the meantime, the government has put forward Bill 11, which has thrown out a red herring by taking away control of professional development from the professionals, while at the same time, continues to restructure public education. If Minister of Education Fassbender doesn’t think a board is doing a good enough job cutting its budget, it can override the democratically elected board. There is no appeal. Which of our local schools will Minister Fassbender close?
Are we democratic citizens going to sit by while one of the foundations of our society, public education, is destroyed?
Thank you to brave editors who keep our attention to this crucial issue.
Susan Telfer, teacher, Elphinstone
