Burnaby teachers urging province to provide more funding; district facing $4.2M budget shortfall
The Burnaby Teachers' Association is sounding the alarm on the need for more funding, as the school district cuts band programs, high school counsellors and custodian positions due to a $4.2-million budget shortfall.
Alex Peters, president of the association, says daytime custodial positions at elementary schools will now move to an on-call basis only, and she is concerned for students' safety.
'So, there's going to be broken glass from broken windows. It could be things like sharps on the playground, those sorts of things,' explains Peters.
She says the province has failed to deliver on its promise to provide a mental health counsellor in every school, and she is worried for the wellbeing of teachers.
'The stress of teachers knowing they're not meeting the needs of the students in their class, they don't have the ability to provide what they know that their students need, that's just terrible,' Peters says.
The cuts also include three full-time counsellors in secondary schools, the Grade 7 brand program and a phasing out of the Mandarin language arts program.
Kristin Schnider, chair of the Burnaby School Board, says there is only so much the board can do without more provincial funding.
Schnider says population growth has led to overcrowding in schools, which is what the board's budget has been forced to address.
'Over the last seven years, we've spent $75 million on portables, dollars that could have been spent in the classroom supporting teachers, but most importantly supporting kids,' says Schnider.
Education Minister Lisa Beare declined an interview request from CTV News. In a statement, she said the government is 'committed to prioritizing education.'
'Next year, we're projecting the highest education funding ever – over $8.2 billion. That's almost 60 per cent more since 2017,' says Beare. 'There's no question we are facing significant pressure – from global labour shortages, political and economic uncertainty to tariff threats.'
Schnider says the increase in funding since 2017 doesn't go far enough to address previous years' rapid inflation and the growing needs of the district.
'While I appreciate the efforts of the current government, we really need to step it up to increase the amount that the provincial government allocates to education,' says Schnider.
It's a concern being felt across districts. A survey from the B.C. Teachers' Federation found one in six teachers says their school has no mental health counsellor and educators are burning out.
'Lots of teachers in their first five years are leaving their profession because it's just such a hard environment,' says Peters.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Globe and Mail
36 minutes ago
- Globe and Mail
Demand for oil to soar 44 per cent from now until 2050, OPEC's secretary-general tells Calgary gathering
There is no oil demand peak on the horizon, the head of the OPEC says, taking aim at a 'flip flop' in policy from the International Energy Agency which he says have undercut crucial investments in the oil and gas sector. Haitham al-Ghais, the Secretary-General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said Tuesday at the Global Energy Show in Calgary that the group projects global oil demand will surpass 120 million barrels a day by 2050. 'In our long-term projections, we see the forecast that global primary energy demand is going to increase by a staggering 44 per cent from now to 2050,' he said. 'Our forecasts are not based on ideology. They are based on data and analysis of data, and they clearly indicate that oil would remain an integral part of the energy mix at around 30 per cent still in 2050,' he said. Meeting that ever-rising demand will only be possible with adequate and timely and necessary investments in the oil industry, he said. But comments by the International Energy Agency have threatened those investments, he said. 'OPEC has been very concerned by the IEA's flip-flop on the critical issue of industry investments,' he said. Mr. al-Ghais specifically pointed to IEA reports between 2017 and 2020, which projected that oil would remain a cornerstone of global energy security. But in 2021, it changed its tune, saying there should be no investments in new oil and gas projects. But now the IEA has once again stressed the importance of oil industry investment, he said. Mr. al-Ghais also addressed the issue of climate, saying OPEC recognizes the importance of investing in technologies such as carbon capture and storage to battle greenhouse gas emissions. Member countries are all signatories to the Paris Agreement, he noted, and recognize the importance of investing in green sources of energy, 'because energy sources are not locked in a zero sum competition.' Rather, he said, 'all forms of energy will be needed to meet future demand and growth.' Plastics made from oil will be needed for the synthetic resins and polymers used for the blades of wind turbines, for example, solar panels and electric vehicles, he said. While he pushed for developed countries to support other economies through climate finance technology funding, he added 'there is no one size fits all solution to addressing the climate matters.' 'We welcome the recent moves towards policies grounded and pragmatic energy realities, and that recognize that we face an emissions challenge and not an energy sources challenge.' The veteran Kuwaiti oil executive was invited to the conference by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Dialog between OPEC and Alberta dates back to 1989, Mr. al-Ghais said, adding the group is committed to continue discussions with producers around the world, including Canada. 'We are acutely conscious of the important role that other major producers around the world, including Alberta, play in the international oil market and in the industry,' he said. 'International orientation is important, given the rapidly evolving global energy landscape.' OPEC+, which pumps about half of the world's oil and includes OPEC members and allies such as Russia, has put forward plans for an increase of 411,000 barrels per day for July as it looks to wrestle back market share and punish over-producers. It is set to unwind production cuts for the fourth straight month. Mr. Al Ghais' comments come in the wake of forecasts by research firms and the U.S. Energy Information Administration that oil demand growth and crude prices will fall by the end of the year. Growth in global oil demand for the rest of the year is expected to fall to one of its weakest levels since 2001, says research firm S&P Global, which this week revised its price outlook for West Texas Intermediate benchmark crude down to as low as the upper-US$40 mark. The United States is expected to bear the brunt of the impacts from an oversupplied market, because U.S. shale production is more responsive to price shifts compared with other sources of non-OPEC supply, such as Canada, Guyana and Brazil.
CBC
38 minutes ago
- CBC
N.S. government prepares engagement table on gender-based violence
A new engagement group on gender-based violence is intended to bring together subject matter experts, people with lived experience and front-line workers as the Nova Scotia government seeks progress on an issue the legislature declared an epidemic last year. Justice Minister Becky Druhan, who is leading the work, said the approach is based on a similar engagement group used to focus on child care when she was education minister. "It has proven to be a very effective way to ensure that sector and community has real, significant and meaningful input into government work," she said in an interview. Druhan said applications will open soon for up to 25 spots. The group's terms of reference and priorities will be finalized soon and then made public. The minister expects the first meeting to happen in the fall and for subsequent meetings at least once every three months. Bringing together insights and knowledge Although the government appreciates the work the sector is doing, Druhan said officials have also heard feedback that there needs to be a way to "knit together the insights and understanding and knowledge of first voices, of families and survivors and those who work on the front line" with the work the government is doing or planning. During the last meeting of the legislature's standing committee on health, the Liberals put forward a motion to create such a roundtable. A vote had been scheduled for Wednesday's committee meeting. In a news release, the party welcomed Druhan's announcement. "When we listen to the people doing this difficult work every day, and to those directly impacted, we can create better policies that save lives," Liberal MLA Iain Rankin said in the release. "I want to thank the presenters who supported the motion last month. Their insights helped build momentum for this important step. I'm hopeful that this initiative leads to real, coordinated action that helps those who need it most." Despite the Liberal motion, Druhan said the idea of an engagement table was something government officials had previously discussed with people connected to the sector. Must lead to change NDP Leader Claudia Chender said in a statement that the new group would only be successful if it leads to change. "We know what the problems are — and we know what must be done. The recommendations from the Mass Casualty Commission, the Lionel Desmond inquiry, and the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls — all provide us with a path forward. Now we need to do the work." For Chender, stable core funding for organizations that work to address and prevent gender-based violence would be a good first step. After tabling its budget earlier this year, the Progressive Conservatives announced additional funding for transition houses amid concerns there was not enough money being directed at the issue. That new money came after seven women were killed in Nova Scotia in less than five months whose deaths were connected to their male partners.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
N.S. reforms for people with disabilities behind schedule but has momentum: province
Vicky Levack, who lives with cerebral palsy, smiles as she adjusts to her new living accommodation in Halifax on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government says its five-year plan to bring about sweeping reforms in housing and care for people with disabilities is behind schedule but gaining momentum. In October 2021, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal ruled that the province was systemically discriminating against people with disabilities. The government was subsequently ordered to make reforms, including to move people out of large institutions and into small homes in the community where they can live independently. However, in a progress report released today the province says only 189 people have left large institutions, a number that is about two-thirds of the goal the government had set for the spring. Scott Armstrong, the minister of social development, says there were delays in finding staff to oversee the transfers to community living, but adds that hiring programs are catching up. The department also says it has succeeded in reducing a wait-list for disabilities services by 293 people, exceeding the plan's original targets. The Disability Rights Coalition — the advocacy group that led the original court case — says the premier's office should be more directly involved in keeping the plan on track. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 10, 2025. The Canadian Press
