Prince George, B.C. – The Northern Interior Branch of the BC School Trustees Association went three for three this weekend.

They were in Vancouver for the annual BC School Trustee Association’s (BCSTA) Annual General Meeting where all three of the resolutions brought forward, including one advocating for a poverty reduction plan, passed.

“When we look at Prince George and we have a poverty rate of just over 20% and then you look at single parents, where you have a poverty rate of almost 51%, it was really important for us to advocate for the province,” says president  Tim Bennett.

“To not only have a poverty reduction plan, but for an immediate strategy to ensure that while the plan’s being formulated, there’s action being taken.”

He says the province needs to ensure students and families living in poverty come to school prepared.

“When they’re (students) coming to school and aren’t in the proper conditions to learn, learning doesn’t occur. So we need to ensure that these students have the best possible opportunities when they walk through our doors.”

Along with the poverty reduction resolution, two others passed – including a resolution to ensure adequate funding for rural and remote communities and another asking the government to lift the salary freeze that is currently in place for some exempt staff.

Bennett says the resolutions will allow the BCSTA leadership to better lobby the government.