SD57 Gives Final Approval to Budget
Prince George, B.C. – The Board of Education for School District 57 has given third and final reading to it's budget for 2014/15, but most Trustees are not happy about it.
Although the third and final reading was approved, one after one, they spoke of "chronic underfunding". Trustee Trish Bella pointed out that as long as SD57 has any surplus at all, the Province will not be willing to talk to them about increasing funding levels.
The budget that has been approved has only been balanced by dipping into the surplus to the tune of $3.25 million.
"That is not sustainable" says Board Chair Sheryl Warrington as all schools in the District were asked to trim another 5% from their individual budgets. "We are underfunded, we are trying very hard to meet our expenses with the revenues that we have."
Trustee Tim Bennett said that while there is declining enrollment, expenses keep climbing through increases to utilities, labour costs, and msp premiums, "We have more and more expenses being piled on to the District, but no increase in funding to cover that."
Comments
Maybe district employees should start paying their own MSP instead of dumping that cost on to the taxpayers.
Chronically underfunding our children’s education, is akin to messing with their future. The courts should go beyond ruling the government’s actions against teacher are illegal and unconstitutional, the courts should impose some jail time.
Watch how fast this labour dispute ends when the threat of going to jail is held over our government official’s heads.
Chronic demands by the BCTF for wage increases far beyond the scale of other public sector workers is creating havoc with our children’s educations and is akin to messing with their future!
Watch how fast this labour dispute would end if the Government threatened to stop paying for the employees MSP premiums and other benefits!!
By the way Peeps, being a person of the People, isn’t it kind of harsh for you to be advocating that any person be sent to jail? That’s not Being very Human, that’s just plain cruel!!
Most employees in private industry have a generous MSP plan as well as dental and extended. Don’t give us this kind of BS.
BeingHuman’s comment doesn’t seem to be too far off from the situation. Not once, but twice, the Supreme Court has ruled that this government’s legislation towards the teachers was unconstitutional and illegal. Don’t know what anyone else thinks, but if someone does something that is illegal, maybe they should go to jail?
The ruling is under legal appeal, JGalt. For what it’s worth, I hope the appeal succeeds. To revert back to the pre-2002 agreement will cost taxpayers an estimated $1 Billion. How much money do you have?
Posted by: culturevulture on May 27 2014 10:33 PM
Most employees in private industry have a generous MSP plan as well as dental and extended. Don’t give us this kind of BS.
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Apples and oranges; private industry is not funding by taxpayers, a lot of whom pay MSP out of their own pocket.
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