All the talk at the meeting from the PAC and other parents and not one recommendation was removed from the list,so much for the board listening to the people.
UNITED WE STAND,DIVIDED WE FALL and they(the government)divided us,so say hello to private schools and social engineering.
MrPG hope you understand what I'm trying to say.lol

How about if we close a few of the schools IN town in order to keep a few of the ones OUT of town open. Instead of busing everyone into the city, keep them in their own community.

Even as I write this, I realize it is too simplistic of a solution.

We cannot give up... we need to be at the olympic relay not to protest the olympics or how much money was wasted it is in the past. We need the world to see. I told steven harpers publicist when he relpied with a comment about contacting our ministry of education that we had and they are not listening to forward my email to him because the we would fight for our schools and it WILL be embarassing for our province and our country because I will do as much as I can to get the word out to as much of the world that is going to be enjoying our fine province while our schools rot and our childrens education rots from beneath them.

Cedars is starting to look really good.

If we want schools to stay open, we all better start having more kids. Right now. Go!

Keeping rural schools open that are half-empty and dropping is not sustainable.

I have a suggestion. REFUSE to accept the lack of funding, and I recommend the board with other boards in the province, sue the province in supreme court for the funds to run the schools properly.

Seriously. That would be the place to put in front of a judge the refusal of the province to fund the system properly, but yet decide initiatives that cannot be done with the money already spent in the system.

Rather than move forward on closing schools and programs, I am recommending that this board, and others, sue the province for the funding needed to pay for wages, MSP, and other so called funding problems.

If the school board had any once of integrity they would simply all resign and let the provincial government take full responsibility politically for any school closures they intend to impose on our city and region. If they don't there should be a way to impeach the lot of them.

I think they will follow through on closing rural schools, because this is a school board with no students of their own and a school board that is all about social engineering… they see no value in a rural community or the intention of having kids educated in their home communities.

Honestly I would not go to school if I had to ride a bus for any more than a half hour. If I was forced I can honestly say by the time I got to my baby sitting location I would have had little respect for the educational process... hungry and restless it would be all fun and games until they told me to stay home. If we want them to truly go to school to learn, and not just to be baby sat for the day by bus drivers and teachers, then we need to take a kids perspective in the circumstances of hour long bus rides.

With HST and the school closures alone we as a region should be planning now a recall campaign to start the day after the closing ceremonies of the Olympics... this government doesn’t respect your children, they don’t respect education in general, and they don’t respect the democratic process (HST), and they don't respect the spending and taxation priorities of the middle class that is paying all the taxes in this province. Time to show them who they work for is what I would recommend.

For those still in denial (and there are many of you out there)...

SD57 Capacity: 22,000
Current Student Population: 13,400 (and trending down)

Tell me again why we should keep all the schools open?

I agree with Mr PG. Simple fact is that everything EVERYTHING works on supply and demand. IN the really world and there is no need for your trade you do not have a job. I appreciate the fact that teachers are concerned that they may not have a job but the simple fact is that there are not enough kids to fill the class rooms. Birth rate in Canada is now at 1.6 If you want your school to stay open convince more people to move to your area or have more KIDS. Quit blaming everyone and everything else. We don't want our taxes to be raised, we don't want a deficit but God help the government if it affects me.
As far as all you complaining about the schools not having enough kids.(That is the Real issue) and yet we spend money on the Olympics, well what about the constrution worker that worked on sea to sky highway. Is he not important or the truck driver who delivered gravel or those who worked on the Ice rink They re all just as important to there families.
When dempand for lumber and other commodities we have in this province is down because of less world wide demand be glad we had the Olympic so that jobs could be created.

Its a tough world out there, but when money is spent on silly things and when I can't have a say on how my hard earned money is spent. I start thinking how come the parents of this school can't put some playground equipment in. Oh ya, it somebody's job. Sorry its going be double of the price, and it will take 6 months for the paperwork to go thru, oh I forgot it's union so its gets done when they want to do it. There is alot of deadwood that is costing lots of money. Why does that little school who is trying to be self functioning have to pay for other schools. Because of the DEADWOOD.

Yet while demographics are down, new program initiatives are constantly being added to schools all the time. We have families moving to get jobs, as resource industries slow down, and the economy that tanked has not picked up yet. People need to eat, and so how much of the decline in enrollment is families leaving BC?

Remember when parents driving kids to field trips? Can't....car seat laws, so bussing seems to be the best answer for the board. Here is an example of legislation that is great on paper in Victoria, but ends up costing more money in school program operation. What gets me is how Victoria announces initiatives in education, like full day kindergarten, but actually does not attach a dollar figure to the costs of implementing and maintaining that. So, all they are doing is feel good announcements, that will cut some other program or service or school at the local level.

While the report given recommends 14 school closures, that will eliminate staff, and while people complain about the system capacity and the numbers filling or not filling the schools, consider that these kids will be paying taxes to fund....education, health care, roads and what have you. I would rather pay more taxes if I knew that it was not managed badly. Why? Because investing money today means lower taxes for demands of other services, like social services and criminal justice costs. As it is, even closing all those schools will not save enough money to balance books, and then the district will be transporting students, and fuel costs are not necessarily going to go down. Sure, we will not be cleaning buildings, but they are not going to be able to not heat them even empty. As a parent of three kids (so much for your argument about having kids), I am not sure if anything my kids will have in their go around in education in this province will come close to the quality of education I received growing up elsewhere in Canada.
People are finding having families expensive now. It is not just about creature comforts here--basics have risen in cost a lot. Bread, milk, housing.

As far as the supply and demand argument for deciding how to spend education dollars, I disagree. BC is not investing money in its future now. We have buildings that are older, that we need to heat (unlike balmy Victoria), and higher transportation costs ( rural living means commuting, and that does cost money, whether parents or the school district bears the costs). It is not a simple formula, but rather a convoluted process where the money is dispensed from the province and the locals get to take the fall for how it is not enough to cover the real costs. The province does not have a handle on the local costs, so makes poor allocation decisions from their level.

I believe that the board has not explored all the options, and even some of the numbers used in the sustainability report are suspect and untrue. I am more concerned that after being told six years ago that there would not be any more closures, we are facing closure and reorganization, with a still a very substantial shortfall of 3 million. I do not see how closing schools then will really help. I think the board needs to reconsider its options.

"As a parent of three kids (so much for your argument about having kids),"

So this is your proof that everyone is having more kids? Sorry, it doesn't work like that.

"People are finding having families expensive now."

I agree, and this is one of the main reasons people are having fewer kids.

"I believe that the board has not explored all the options, and even some of the numbers used in the sustainability report are suspect and untrue. I am more concerned that after being told six years ago that there would not be any more closures, "

What options have they not explored? Remember, 22,000 capacity, 13,400 students. Those are the numbers, I didn't make them up.

Who cares what they told you six years ago. We have to get our heads out the sand and face the cold hard reality of demographics. It sucks.

"I do not see how closing schools then will really help."

Really, you don't see how closing half full schools saves money? Wow.

Again, you're more than welcome to live in that world of denial. Many people will join you I'm sure. And yes, I'm a parent too, but I'm not blind to the numbers.

Mr p.g. says:If we want schools to stay open, we all better start having more kids. Right now. Go!

Well not everybody can afford to have more kids. We can hardly afford the few that we have now! Not everyone makes 100 grand a year! Maybe we all should have been a Politician, and could give ourselves a raise when we see fit. This government needs a reality check! Frivolous spending on things that are not needed or important to the regular tax payer! This is a perfect example of just how many people have left this town and or province. No jobs,higher taxes. My father never paid as much as we are right now. He raised a family of 10 on 100 dollars a month on groceries. I can spend that in a week at Save-on. How come government could manage to function back then? There was no GST, Carbon taxes, Casino's just where the hell is all that money going? This government doesn't give a sh!te about it's people and what we have to say about it's spending. Well Mr. Campbell and Mr. Harper your day is coming because this bubble is going to burst right in your face. People are getting FED-UP!

You are correct hammmy.......I am getting fed up with people spending like money grows on trees. I will vote for Gordo until he retires (or someone better comes along). Same with Steven.

The mess we would be in with the BC NDP-commies or the Canadian Iggy Liberals in power would be for more damaging than clossing unused schools and laying off teachers that are not needed. The concept is so easy to understand but gets lost on the lost.

I realize that we don't need as MANY schools, but did you not hear? they are closing CFG to put those students cookie cutter style into Harwin. Although I think the FSA testing is a load of hooey, the board and the ministry of education believe that it is the gold standard and when you look at the scores:

Harwin

35% of students in grade 7 are meeting expectations in reading. none are exceeding

38% of students in grade 7 are meeting expectations in writing. none are exceeding

31% of students in grade 7 are meeting expectations in numeracy. none are exceeding

CFG

80% of students in grade 7 are meeting or exceeding expectations in reading

90% of students in grade 7 are meeting or exceeding expectations in writing

57% of students in grade 7 are meeting or exceeding expectations in numeracy.

you must see that they do not care about the actual education of the children. our children are just number signs to these people.

To those who say the education system is being properly funded and that we need to close schools due to declining enrollment: In the following year our remaining schools will be filled to capacity, the services provided to school will be cut to the bone, and we will have a $4.3 million deficit.

I am not denying that we cannot afford to keep all the schools open when we have fewer students-I can face reality as much as anyone. But the board and the superintendent said last night that this is the problem we are going to be looking at this time next year: full schools, classrooms filled to the maximum allowed, fewer services for students, and a $4.3 million deficit. The truth is that costs are being downloaded on school boards ($200,000 in carbon credits, for example) and that we are not given any extra consideration by government for heating schools and bussing students.

Finally, I am frustrated to see any politican of any stripe taking credit for the good and ignoring the bad. Neither Pat or Shirley showed up last night, and they never will go to any meetings about closure. But I'll bet my house that they'll be front and center when the new Duchess opens up.

I agree having kids is expensive and how could we have more kids ? It is all about choices and how we want our lifestyle. My grandparents had 12 kids but they chose to have a garden, and raised them in a 800 square ft house. Today we want a 2500 square ft house. We want two vehicles, a boat, sleds, etc. We want to go to hawaii. we want our kids to have dance lessons, Play hockey , Music lessons and the list goes on and on . To have a big family you would have to sacrifice something, but maybe the joy of being raised with many other siblings would be worth it . Just a thought

I agree they WILL need to close some schools but they need to close the schools where no one WANTS to go.
No offense to the french immersion kids but they at least will get to keep their french program where as the CFG kids will lose it all.

Our board while it is not their fault they have no money do not actually care about the quality of education Th FAS which I think are a bunch of hooey are the board and ministry of educaton's gold standard of how they measure if your school is working or not.

These are the results from the two schools

Harwin

35% of students in grade 7 are meeting expectations in reading none are exceeding

38% of students in grade 7 are meeting writing none are exceeding.

31% of students in grade 7 are meeting expectations in numeracy none are exceeding.

CFG
80% of students in grade 7 are meeting or exceeding expectations in reading

90% of students in grade 7 are meeting or exceeding expectations in writing

60% of students in grade 7 are meeting or exceeding expectations in numeracy

These number speak for themselves.They are taking students that by the results of these tests are excelling to a school where they fall far below the expectation for the distric and for the province. Harwin states the very fact in their student success plan.

Using the FAS for comparison doesn't really work when most teachers discourage students from trying to do their best. My daughter was told by her teacher to just click her way through it, because it doesn't matter. So I guess if you don't agree with something sabotage it.
I doubt that is the attitude of the dedicated staff at Central Fort George . It shows in the results. I wish them all the best in keeping their school open.

I don't think the tests are accurate either BUT the ministry of education does and so does the school board so...

If you don't want your kids to have a long bus ride, move closer. No one is forcing you to live in the rural areas. All I read on this site is how taxes are too high. What would your response be if in July, you noticed that the school tax you are paying doubled. They explain it very clearly in large, bold letters "Tax increase due to rural schools." How many of you would be happy to pay the tax? It is expensive to run schools at half capacity. The actual education that these kids are going to get will probably go up because: more kids more money = more services available.

Asking the school district to keep these schools open despite the lack of need (yes the kids there need it but, there aren't that many kids) is like asking Northern Health to open another hospital at Nukko Lake because people there get sick.

How about giving groups of rural parents the $5000.00 (or whatever it is) per student from the ministry and let them hire teachers or let them homeschool. 12 kids in a group x $5000.00 = $60,000.
People move to rural areas to raise their children without a lot of the negative influences of the city.
Oh I forgot . Nevermind, there are unions involved .

"I have a suggestion. REFUSE to accept the lack of funding, and I recommend the board with other boards in the province, sue the province in supreme court for the funds to run the schools properly."

You do know where the governments money comes from right?

yes but they are also closing schools that are full and thriving. I have a GREAT idea what about those schools that are over capacity? I know in other communities where there are schools that are too full they re draw the catchment boundaries and then they enforce them, then schools like southridge would not be running at 125% of capacity while other schools just as worthy dry up.

so I am no legal buff where do I sign up?

Mr PG...sorry your logic does not cut it. The district has an inventory of neighbourhood school buildings, so while you cite big large groups of students, you do not account for how they will be housed during the said education process. You do not account for learning environments of success, dealing with overcrowding and space issues, and while it is true the enrollment is declining, we need to get rid of administrators and teachers and other school staff, not necessarily programs and buildings. So, numbers of cohorts in schools does not make the picture clearer. Harwin is a school operating at less than 50% of it capacity, and CFG is over 80%. Makes more sense to close Harwin, but the committee chose this. Why? To create a political situation that would force changes based on this scarcity model. Victoria has the money. Olympic seats for politicians and just under 400000 would keep two of those schools open. The security costs, well, where is the money for this party coming from...the feds....ha....and then Victoria gets out of tax collection with the HST....ha....just wait till you have get money from Ottawa...

The system is not accountable. The province does not demand it in any of it government systems, and its politics are not much better.

As far as the numbers in the earlier comparisons, those numbers are not just from FSA reports. Those numbers quoted earlier are about school planning for success. But they demonstrate the underlying reasons why CFGT parents will not send their kids to Harwin, or will send their children either to private or home schools or other district schools.

It does show that Harwin spends most of its planning on behaviour management, and not on education. CFTS spends more time on learning. Either there is a huge difference in the schools or there is not. Second, the only thing Harwin has is a large building. The reputation of the school for bad or poorly behaved children has been there for a while.

I am annoyed with your comments about mine. I have three kids, not because it is the norm, but because I do. It is not proof of anything. Your logic and discounted of my comment is not accurate. And while having more kids would seem to make sense, the demographics of having less children are what they are.

Bottom line, they are shutting down a successful program, in order to fill a large school building. The sustainability report uses numbers that are not actually in the building now. There are actually more students in CFTS than the report used. And the sustainability report did not EVEN DISCLOSE the recommendation to close the school is also shutting down a program. That is misleading to the trustees, and completely disrespects the parents and students who support this choice school.

FSA...well, maybe it is accurate or it is not. Obviously, the province needs some measure of success in the dollars dispensed, and while there is all kinds of rhetoric about testing, there are other tests already available that could work, such as Canadian Basic Skill Testing, CBST is used to evaluate skills for learning challenges, so why use another instrument? This one would at least benchmark the kids across Canada.

Now, the idea of suing the government is simply that they would have to demonstrate that the money allocation is viable. And, I have found there are only two ways to get accountability in government--forced disclosure and law suit. And, while yes, they would use tax dollars to defend the case, they would have to satisfy the supreme court that they are indeed providing the funds for what the law actually says they are supposed to do. Because when it comes to accountability, it is amazing how government agencies and other groups get accountable facing a law suit, and I am suggesting it would be a class action situation. I am no expert either, but no one seems to have any new ideas to try.

Either give local boards the means to raise funds directly, or get out of allocating funds. Once the facility grants were no longer being levied, then the board should have been able to raise taxes to pay for the buildings. One way or another, the local board needs to be doing more than sorting out what to do with Victoria's allowance. Without the power to face taxpayers directly, the board gets the wrath, but can blame the province, and the province gets to blame the board. What a convoluted system, with no mechanism to either raise taxes directly or not. So, we get told there is no money, but Victoria is allocating money to Olympics and all kinds of other things.

Bottom line, this whole sustainability report has very little in terms of creative solutions in it. It proposes larger schools will be sustainable, but at what cost?

And why support the creation of one choice program while another is closed because of building issues, and declining enrollment?

That was quite a post. It really paints a picture of the world you live in. A world where demographics and tax dollars do not matter. All that seem to matter are irrelevancies and a complete failure to see the big picture.

How about, instead of pointing the finger at everything and everyone for the school closures, you point it at these numbers;


SD57 Capacity: 22,000
SD57 Enrollment: 13,400 (and trending down)


That's all you need to know. End of story.

MR. PG

Do you have the numbers for the children who LEFT the public school system? Do you have the numbers for the private and religious schools? DID you know that while the enrollment numbers in PUBLIC schools go down they are rising in the private sector. If you count between the private and homeschoolers that there are roughly 6400 students in that sector, yes we still have a decline but not as drastic as it looks it is because the educational system is in trouble people are looking for a more stable environment for their children's education.

13500
+6400
_______

19900 k-12 students in the area

22000
19000
______
3000 less students not 8600 and if the cuts in the public system continue to happen the losses to the private education system will get even worse.

"Do you have the numbers for the children who LEFT the public school system? Do you have the numbers for the private and religious schools? DID you know that while the enrollment numbers in PUBLIC schools go down they are rising in the private sector."

Great! Build more private schools and close more public schools. Makes sense to me!

yep good solution MR.PG that is where my child will be going.

actually tax dollars and demographics do matter. I just question a situation where the administrative powers that be play blame games, expects parents in shock to give the board direction, while the said administrators take home almost 200 grand in compensation. Excuse me, your asking the parents for help now? Well, here we go, blame someone else, create more crisis. As if the bad air quality in town is not driving people away, let's drive a few more away too.

For what it is worth, parents are taxpayers. This system not only sucks, but does not stand up in quality to any other province. After all the rhetoric, I can't believe the nonsense that passes off as so called politics in this province, and there is no accountability, just passing the blame around so "the problem" never gets solved.

As far as I am concerned, my world involves paying lots of taxes. I already pay taxes, and for that, I have the right as a parent and a taxpayer, Mr PG, to point out that the recommendations are flawed and based on crisis and panic. These trustees and paid administrators are supposed to do better than blame Victoria, but they all do that. And Victoria, spending almost 400000 dollars on politician seats at the games, never mind the wholesale pulling off from funds to the provincial infrastructure to staff and secure them, and we see that the priorities of BC are not schools, healthcare, or roads or the economy.

Victoria knew for over a year the economy tanked. Revenues based on returns from personal and business taxes would inevitably go down. Those people live in a fantasy world, and the bubble finally caught up with them, games or no games. No one discussed cuts early, but these people thought that the provinces tax system was immune to less money. Duh. But when the province runs out, after allocating funds on non essential stuff, like the Olympic games, and other schemes to make quick money do not happen, like the sold called lots of athletes coming to BC to train, like here in PG, we get infrastructure problems, service cuts, and now, more blame games.

I live in a world where I am more than annoyed with political nonsense that passes as fiscal responsibility. If I ran my household like that, I could not afford to support my kids. But you know, I am fed up with excuses. I would rather pay more taxes. Raise sales taxes, levy more on property, whatever. If there is no infrastructure here to attract people and businesses, well, that would be too bad, because there is no way to make a services exist to grow this city or this province. I already pay lots of tax, and will probably be paying lots of tax to support social services and healthcare. I just wish some of my taxes went into schools.

But then again, BC accepts crappy service, no accountability, and then complains about taxes. Not only do the politicians do nothing, they consolidate power so that no one can stop them from doing nonsense in the process. Duh. We need to stop accepting excuses as a province from a government that has the money but has already spent it on non essential crap.

Yeah, the blame game is fun, isn't it?

So when are you going to address the declining enrollment figures in SD57 and why schools should stay open in spite of that?

You complain about government waste and high taxes, but you seem to support keeping half-empty schools open. Can you explain this?

If a school has capacity for 250 students, but only has 125 students, then you make it work for 125 students via the staffing and you do not close the community school.

The capacity argument is essentially meaningless and the argument should be about cost effective quality education. There is nothing to say that a school of 125 students can not be as cost effective as bussing them all to a distant school just to met a capacity quota. Capacity might matter more in a class room size, but has no place in the school location for established rural communities. There is nothing to say a rural school at 50% capacity couldn't be more efficient than a city school at 100% capacity... its all how its managed that matters and that is the real issue here for those without a political agenda.

"If a school has capacity for 250 students, but only has 125 students, then you make it work for 125 students via the staffing and you do not close the community school. "

So in five years when that school has 80 students, do you still keep it open, heated, lit, maintained and fully-staffed? At what point do you pull the plug?

what about the inncer city schools that are empty and are not closing but filling spots with kids from schools that are full such as the french schools going to heather park/mcinnesand the traditional school going to harwin if they closed the school that are at less than 755 full they ould close more schools and plump up the ones that are almost full.

It's called PRIORITIES, and that is something this government does not have.
If taxes are going to be drained, I would rather spend it in education.
Always money for the non-essentials eh!
You start stuffing schools, don't blame the teachers when your teenager can't read or make change when he/she graduates.
Besides the empty school will still have to be heated and maintained for safety reasons.Why on earth would any government lay teachers off and put them back on the the government Dole (E.I.) is beyond me. No work=No revenue for government.

It's called reality. Nobody seems to want to answer the question. If you support a half-empty school being open, how empty does it get before you close it?

Whether you want to admit it or not, the trend is that people are not living in the rural areas as much as the old days. How much are you willing to pay to support the lifestyle that fewer people are choosing?

Anyone?

hammmy = "You start stuffing schools, don't blame the teachers when your teenager can't read or make change when he/she graduates."


Once again you are correct. The only blame should fall on the parents. If you let your kid coast through school without learning anything you are to blame. The teachers failed a long time ago.....blame for them has been established and is without dispute. They are there for a paycheque only.

How does that saying go? Those that do....DO. Those that can not...TEACH.

Take some personal responsibility and teach your children yourself, put them in the best school available, be hands on. You owe it to them.

Thank you for your email regarding education funding.



We have had to make some difficult decisions this year due to the economic downturn. We remain committed, however, to pursuing excellence in our education system. Despite a continuing drop in the number of students, funding has been increasing every single year. You might be interested to know that per student funding is higher than ever before.



You have referred to school closures. The provincial government is not involved in school district decisions regarding the closure of schools. We would encourage you to bring your concerns to the attention of the Board of Education in the Prince George District Office at:



School District #57 – Prince George

2100 Ferry Avenue, Prince George, BC, V2L 4R5

Phone: 250-561-6800 Fax: 250-561-6801

Email: sd57@sd57.bc.ca



We appreciate your taking the time to share your concerns. Your correspondence has been shared with the Honourable Margaret MacDiarmid, Minister of Education, for review and consideration.



Again, thank you for writing.



cc: Honourable Margaret MacDiarmid

also in response to the question MR PG,

I agree sure close the half empty ones but what is your answer to why close full schools?

Mr pg are you really gordon campbell?
Austen road school is full and enrollment is up but they want to close it.you didnt read the report did you?Other people seem to have the same view as I,but you still want to keep your liberals sht from stinking eh?
I think you need to get your head out of the sand and see that all your doing is making yourself look stupid and uninformed,I may be some what illiterate but i m not that dumb to think all the problems with the schools come down to enrollment.tell us who you really are so we wont vote for you later lol

Thank you for your email regarding education funding.



We have had to make some difficult decisions this year due to the economic downturn. We remain committed, however, to pursuing excellence in our education system. Despite a continuing drop in the number of students, funding has been increasing every single year. You might be interested to know that per student funding is higher than ever before.



You have referred to school closures. The provincial government is not involved in school district decisions regarding the closure of schools. We would encourage you to bring your concerns to the attention of the Board of Education in the Prince George District Office at:



School District #57 – Prince George

2100 Ferry Avenue, Prince George, BC, V2L 4R5

Phone: 250-561-6800 Fax: 250-561-6801

Email: sd57@sd57.bc.ca



We appreciate your taking the time to share your concerns. Your correspondence has been shared with the Honourable Margaret MacDiarmid, Minister of Education, for review and consideration.



Again, thank you for writing.



cc: Honourable Margaret MacDiarmid

amom, why do you keep posting the same thing over and over again?

In answer to your questions (and I answered them elsewhere), the district as a whole must be looked at, not just one school vs. the next. Nobody wants 'their' school closed.

And to meise, do you figure I'm Gordon Campbell because you don't like what I have to say, or that I'm being realistic? Probably a bit of both.

wow talk about living in a bubble"The provincial government is not involved in school district decisions regarding the closure of schools" But they set the budgets for the school boards.As for funding per student its too bad they dont keep in line with the rising cost,like heat,almost doubled in five years,same as electricity,and no more tax break for either.We can find more that the government has cut that has caused this situation but granted,there are other areas that need cleaned up,union of teacher,board of education,and the ministry of education.But again 7BILLION ON THE OLYMPIC GAMES,7,000,000,000.You know how much all the school boards need to to be topped up,less than 2hundred million,200,000,000.drop in the barrel.

The only one living in a bubble is you.

Per student funding is higher than it's ever been, the problem is that declining enrollment sees less real dollars flowing to the districts. The trustees' job is to manage the dollars they are allocated and make the hard decisions (like close schools), which they haven't been doing to keep up with the declining enrollment.

Me personally, I'd rather have the trustees managing the budget at the district level rather than some bureaucrat in Victoria, but the trustees have screwed up. What's left is a big mess and mad people... who are directing the blame at everywhere and everyone rather than where it should lie.

sorry faulty computer;)not meaning to double post

oh my god did you read your own last post you just agreed with what were trying to say sorry but you are an idiot.
Who cares if public school enrollment is down,fund it.The trustees are the scape goat.As for student funding being higher than ever,that amount now has to bare the burden of all repairs and cleaning staff etc of the schools,which means less is going to the actual education of our children and to me thats more important than giving billions towards the Olympics,drugs and needles for the drug addicts,the drug van,the war on drugs,public money for BC Place,or how about all the studies,to study if they need to do a study.But hey i m just a dumb redneck.

Name calling now. Classy.

I'd continue this battle of wits with you, but it appears you are unarmed. You summed it up well in your last sentence, I'll give you that.