The good news is B.C.'s reconfirmed AA (high) credit rating. The distressing news comes from School District 43 and a local social service agency that provides counselling for traumatized children.
On the one hand, the BC Liberal government deserves some credit for its fiscal discipline. But balancing the B.C. budget hasn't been easy and there have been some casualties along the way.
Specifically, vulnerable kids are being left behind in the race to keep the province's budget balanced.
In the case of School District 43, which is now last in B.C. in terms of per-student funding, operating grants to run schools have not kept pace with inflation, forcing the district to constantly cut staff, cut corners and do other things to stay in the black. Last year's bloodletting amounted to $13.8 million in cuts.
While some of the problems in SD43 were the district's fault because it was spending more than it was getting in grants. But much can also be blamed on provincial rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul funding rules, under which districts losing students get money from districts, like SD43, that are stable.
And just when this district appears to be getting back on its feet budget-wise, it has to absorb another $1.5 million in "administration efficiencies" Premier Christy Clark's "low-hanging fruit" to meet the latest provincial belt-tightening dictum.
Thankfully, SD43 has scoured the planet for foreign students whose parents are willing to pay $13,000 a year for them to study here. Without them, the district would not be able to meet its budget obligations.
But there are consequences to several years of cuts and many years of underfunding, as the district heard during its recent public budget meetings, with more than 500 students waiting for psychological assessments, speech and language services and other help because those services had to be cut to keep classrooms functioning.
Meanwhile, in the area of serious grief and trauma counselling, services provided by ACT 2 have not kept pace with population, resulting in 150 kids dealing with serious issues while they wait six months or more for help.
Yes, it's nice that the province has balanced its budget. But knowing that some of this fiscal certainty is on the backs of young children is a difficult to accept.
