Nelson/Creston candidates respond to education funding
By Nelson Daily Staff
The stretch run is on for the May 14 voting day in the 2013 B.C. Provincial Election.
Friday the three Nelson/Creston candidates — incumbent Michelle Mungall of the BC NDP, Liberal Greg Garbula and Sjeng Derkx of the Green Party of BC — received a taste of the electorate will be wanting when the trio entertained questions from students at Trafalgar Middle School.
This week’s The Nelson Daily poll question for candidates Mungall, Garbula and Derkx also deals with education in the province.
The Liberals froze block funding to public schools and continued with cuts to colleges and university in the 2013 budget. Nelson Creston residents have seen the pressure this puts on the board of School District 8, the discord it brings between teachers and the board and the distrust and dissatisfaction harboured by parents. Meanwhile, more children are expected to learn with less.
How would you and your party remedy this situation?
Sjeng Derkx, Green Party of BC
The goal of our education system is to provide students with the education they need. The challenge is to provide quality education in a cost effective manner. There clearly are problems with funding for education, but just throwing more money at it may not be the answer.
Governments and school boards need to work together to develop local community schools, which integrate community centres, recreation facilities and libraries. School principles, teachers and parents need to have more direct say in their local schools.
Independent and alternative schools should be integrated into the public school system, without affecting their autonomy and objectives. This will ensure a wide range of options for the diverse learning needs of our students and assure fair funding for all.
User fees for basic school services should be prohibited. Corporate funding has no place in our schools. In the long term, public education should be free at every level.
Michelle Mungall, BC NDP
Education is the most important investment we can make in our future. A strong public education system is the most powerful tool we have to ensure that our province provides equal opportunity and the best possible start in life for every child.
Over the last 12 years, the BC Liberals have failed to protect public education in BC. Often they have taken us backwards.
The New Democrats understand the vital role of public education in creating a more prosperous and inclusive society for every British Columbian.
We will start by directing new resources to the classroom as an important step towards improving outcomes for students.
An NDP government will improve learning conditions for our children by:
– Providing students with the classroom support they need,
– Hiring new teachers, education assistants, librarians and counsellors
– Putting additional focus on students with special needs, Aboriginal students and ESL students
– Replacing the Foundation Skills Assessment (FSA) test with improved assessment tools resulting from consultation with parents, teachers and school boards.
Education starts well before a student enters Kindergarten and continues well beyond high school. New Democrats understand this, and will also invest in the people of BC with a plan for early learning and for post secondary education. You can read our full plan at bcndp.ca/plan .
Greg Garbula, BC Liberals
The question seems to be pointed in another direction as it asks how our party would rectify what the Liberals did?
The BC Education plan introduced by the Liberal Government has been very positively received by the administrators of education in our region, due to the fact that education and educators are adapting to the changing environment of technology. Flexible learning and personalized programs allow the opportunity for students and teachers to provide individual education plans with greater efficiency and streamlined costs. With both students and teachers having the ability to adapt to the fast paced and ever changing technology improvements, they are allowing the students be the center of their education, with flexibility and choice on how they learn.
Although funding is static the main issue of our region is not the funds but the declining enrolment. Having spoken to an administrator at one of our schools recently they expect enrollment to be down another six percent next year. The funding formula is based upon a per student amount that has been getting reduced overall by a reduced number of families with school aged children, having the ability to find employment in our region.
The BC Jobs Plan is addressing the employment issues provincially however we will need to be working hard in our region to reverse the trend that we are encountering specifically to the higher than provincial unemployment rates in our riding, which is one of my main focuses if I am elected your representative.
