Where was the crowd?
A school budget meeting affecting 32,000 School District 43 students, their families and more than 4,000 employees drew only about two dozen people Tuesday night.
This despite the fact that it’s up to a group of elected school board officials to make decisions about how to spend $322 million in taxpayers’ dollars.
But while many chairs were empty at the meeting, the exercise, dubbed an exercise in “transparency” and openness, according to superintendent Patricia Gartland, gave attendees, particularly teens who were among the most engaged, a chance to air their suggestions.
Problems with school maintenance was one of the issues raised.
Here’s what they said:
1. STUDENTS: FIX WASHROOMS
Teens want more attention paid to repairs, especially in washrooms, where locks are missing and doors are broken, students said, and feminine hygiene projects aren’t consistently available. Students also called for the establishment of a social club where international and local students could be friends and share their language and culture — an inexpensive idea that got lots of love from trustees.
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Here's what else they said at the Tuesday, Feb. 11 meeting in Coquitlam.
2. PARENTS: FIX BUILDINGS
Although they didn't speak at the meeting, parents told The Tri-City News they want the district to attend to repairs to buildings more quickly. District Parent Advisory Council president Marvin Klassen also asked for more noon-hour supervisors and training to deal with problems on school grounds.
3. COUNSELLORS, CLERICAL & TEACHERS: MORE HELP
Long lineups to see school counsellors who are dealing with growing workloads was a complaint by a middle-school counsellor, who suggested students be encouraged to input their course selections online to free time for counsellors to help students. Trustees were sympathetic, especially, when one Heritage Woods student said her school counsellor was key to helping her deal with mental health issues. Clerical workers also complained of work overload, and sought measures to help in schools, while teachers asked for no layoffs and more staff to help with behaviour issues.
4. SD43: HOW MUCH?
While input is helpful, SD43 still needs to know how much money it has to spend next year and is waiting for March 13, when the provincial government will announce its education budget. Even so, there is little wriggle room for innovation, as 90% of the budget is spent on salaries and much of school spending is laid out by education mandate, contractual obligations and other requirements. Without an increase in spending, there is little likely SD43 can do more than make a few tweaks.
5. SD43: THANK GOODNESS FOR INTERNATIONAL ED.
SD43 continues to rely on international education revenues — about $31 million — as well as robust rental revenue, to provide additional funds beyond provincial funding. Indeed, the audience was told that without the surplus from these funds, the district would experience extreme ups and downs in funding as it struggles with what it describes as “limited ministry funding for inflation and the frequent adoption of new and unfunded initiatives.“
So while crowds were small, the input was thoughtful, and now top officials can start plugging in the numbers. Whether the comments will make a difference remains to be seen.
The next public budget meeting is: Tuesday, April 7 at 7 p.m. More here.
