Latest news with #SurreySchoolDistrict
CBC
9 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
B.C. minister defends progress on building more schools in Surrey
B.C.'s infrastructure minister has defended her government's progress on building more schools in Surrey, even as two more schools in the city will shift to a staggered schedule to deal with overcrowding. Fraser Heights and Sullivan Heights secondary schools will shift to having class times adjusted to start earlier, and end later, in order to squeeze a fifth block of classes into the daily schedule. That means eight schools in B.C.'s largest school district will have staggered schedules in total, as the Surrey School District's long-running overcrowding problems continue to lead to parent frustration. District officials have defended the practice of extending days and say staff have been able to manage the workload, while the minister responsible for building more infrastructure has said around $1 billion has been spent on new schools and school additions in Surrey since 2017. WATCH | Parents outraged over staggered school days: Staggered school times at Surrey, B.C., schools terrible for staff, parents say 3 days ago Duration 10:33 Fraser Heights and Sullivan Heights secondary schools in Surrey are expected to stagger start times so that school space is available for them in the fall. Cindy Dalglish says the staggered schedule at her child's school, Salish Secondary, is very disruptive for working parents. Sally Huang, who is the PAC president at Fraser Heights, called the changes terrible and horrifying. Parents, however, say that officials aren't moving fast enough to deal with a problem that has festered for years, and students' futures are getting caught in the crossfire. "The inconsistency is completely disruptive and the inequity, and lack of awareness of the inequity, is astounding," said Cindy Dalglish, whose daughter studies at Salish Secondary School, which was on staggered start times last year. "These decisions are not student centred at all." Dalglish said the inconsistency in school starting times means that parents have to juggle work responsibilities to get their kids to school and extracurriculars and study schedules are thrown in flux daily. "We already have, you know, a high level of curriculum coming into them," the parent said. "She is one of those go-getter kids that has really hard, hard classes .... they're cramming more into these [classes] this time." Sally Huang, the president of the Fraser Heights Secondary parent advisory committee, said that the staggered start times were also hard on staff, even as she acknowledged staggered start times were preferable to online learning. "The Surrey students' population growth is not new news," she said. "It has been steadily growing [over] the years, especially since COVID and a lot of young families, we heard, moved here looking for affordable housing. "So why hasn't the government kept up with that reality? Why hasn't there been a timely capital investment in new schools and classrooms?" Year-round schooling being considered Terry Allen, the vice-chair of the Surrey Board of Education, defended the staggered start times, and commended staff for dealing with the added workload. Allen said the feedback the school board has received has been positive, and he was disappointed to learn that parents weren't satisfied with their kids' learning experience. "The reality is, though, that there's really no other choice," Allen said of the extended school days. "We don't have enough schools in Surrey, and if we don't find some way of creating more space in the schools we have, it can only get worse and certainly not better." WATCH | Terry Allen defends staggered start times: 2 more Surrey, B.C., schools to have staggered start times 4 days ago Duration 9:01 Amid a funding crunch in B.C.'s biggest school district, Fraser Heights and Sullivan Heights secondary schools in Surrey are expected to stagger start times so that school space is available for them. Terry Allen, vice-chair of the Surrey Board of Education, said the issue of school space will only get worse if the province doesn't step up with more funding. Allen said that year-round schooling was being given serious thought at the Surrey school board, and that if they failed to receive new schools, everything was on the table. "Parents will have a problem with it, and I don't blame them," he said. "Simply because the provincial government is not providing new schools, and new expansions to existing schools." Minister says billions being spent B.C. Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma said she sympathized with parents in Surrey, and that the school board was being creative in dealing with the overcrowding people. She said the provincial NDP government has invested $6 billion, including $1 billion in Surrey, into new schools and additions since 2017. "Recognizing that the situation that Surrey is dealing with is not ideal, there is hope on the horizon because investments are underway to bring literally thousands of new seats into the Surrey School District," she said. In response to questions about why the government had not moved faster to deal with the overcrowding issue — given the NDP has been in power since 2017 — Ma said the previous Liberal government had not built a single school in the four preceding years. She categorized the money being spent now as a "massive increase in investment" since then, and said that if population growth had stayed consistent, Surrey would actually be seeing an excess of student seats. "But the population also went through this massive increase," the minister said. "So student population increased by 11,500 in that time. This is an unprecedented population increase, we have not seen these kinds of rates of increase in B.C. before." Ma said that a recently-passed infrastructure bill will help the government streamline projects and get them built faster.
Global News
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Global News
Students, parents rally against elimination of Grade 7 band program in Surrey
Parents and students turned out in numbers on Wednesday to protest the elimination of the Surrey School District's Grade 7 band program. The district is facing a $16 million budget shortfall next year, with the elementary school band program slated to be one of the casualties as it looks to balance the books. 'It makes me feel really sad that they are shutting it down,' Grade 7 band participant Keira told Global News. '(My little brothers) won't be able to experience the joy that me and my older brother felt.' Music is an essential part of B.C.'s school curriculum, but band programs are not. Current and former band students rallied with their instruments in front of the district office where trustees approved the proposed budget during their board meeting. 4:11 Surrey parents, teachers ramp up the pressure for more provincial education funding 'This is so upsetting,' parent Angie Haertl said. Story continues below advertisement 'Every time there are cuts it seems to go at music and the arts first. We have such a wealth of studies that show how much early education in ensemble music benefits our core learning subjects.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Jason Chung, a Grade 11 student and former elementary band participant, said the program is what set him on his current course. 'That is what led me to join music education in secondary right now. We cannot take away that opportunity because it is a starting point, where you get into music,' he said. 'It affects the careers of the future generation that is to come, who won't get the exposure we got.' The district is legally required to find savings to cover the shortfall and pass a balanced budget by the end of June.
Global News
24-04-2025
- Business
- Global News
District makes funding plea as Surrey schools run short of paper
The Surrey School District is calling on the B.C. government to increase provincial funding after reports of multiple schools running short of paper. This follows the recent announcement made on Feb. 28 by the Surrey Board of Education of a $16 million budget shortfall for the upcoming 2025-2026 school year. The board says provincial funding is lacking due to inflation and Surrey's growing population. Surrey Board of Education Chair Gary Tymoschuk says, because each school is responsible for managing its budget throughout the school year, 'it's possible that some schools are in fact running a bit low [on paper].' Story continues below advertisement Tymoschuk says the district is able to reallocate resources when schools report running short. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy But he says funding for public education has changed over the years. 'Twenty years ago, the provincial government used to fund public education. About 15 per cent of their total budget,' Tymoschuk says. 'That's dropped down to about eight per cent of their total budget.' In response to the shortfall, Tymoschuk says inflation and infrastructure needs are a priority. '[Inflation] is not funded, and we've got to find ways to make that balance throughout the district,' says Tymoschuk. 'We've got a lot of schools, a lot of structures that we [have] to heat. Things like business infrastructure or technology. Or all of the buildings we [have to] maintain and make sure they're in good repair all the time,' says Tymoschuk. Tymoschuk says the board met last week with the Education Minister to express their concerns.
