It’s time the B.C. premier and the leader of the B.C. Teachers Federation quit talking about the importance of children and put our money where their mouths are.
Christy “family values” Clark should place an amount of money on the bargaining table equivalent to the average other provinces are spending on education. If the BCTF website is correct, B.C.’s funding for education on a per capita student basis is a disquieting $1,000 below the national average.
The teachers’ bargaining team, with the help of a non-partisan facilitator, can then participate in deciding how to distribute these additional funds.
Teachers, who like to say how committed they are to their students, will then have to decide how much should go towards wage increases and how much should go toward reducing class size, i.e., hiring more teachers and support staff. In other words, teachers will have to become part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
The educational system will inevitably soak up all of the money thrown into it. Therefore, elected officials must set responsible limits by finding the correct balance between the short-term interests of taxpayers and the long-term interests of progressively developing our province.
In short, partisan politics should be taken out of education.
Lloyd Atkins
Vernon
