Letter to the Honourable Glen Clark, Premier of British Columbia, 13 July 1999
A report prepared for NDP Minister of Education Paul Ramsey and the Board of School Trustees of School District No. 61 (Greater Victoria) has called for $19.8 million dollars in spending cuts. These ‘savings’ are to be achieved through the routing of elementary and secondary music programs, increased fees for adult students, restrictions on special needs spending, and the closure of four Victoria-area schools.
The School District has projected a structural deficit of $1.5-million for the year 1999-00. If the ‘structure’ of our education system is in need of repair, I suggest we go about fixing it, not causing further damage.
Education is the cornerstone of any healthy, productive, and vibrant society. It should be reflected as such through our legislation and social spending. We want to be building schools and expanding programs, not aiming for the lowest common denominator. Too often the fiscal ‘bottom line’ is used as an excuse to attack social programs in order to fund tax breaks for the rich.
If the School Board needs money, the NDP government should pay up. Despite the $4.5-billion in education transfer payments stolen from the provinces by Chretien’s federal Liberal government, the BC NDP has an obligation to defend education and other social programs.
Anything less would be a betrayal of the working families who voted the NDP into office. Anything less would be a step backward, a blow to the health and well-being of our communities, our children, and our future.
