K-12 Education March 10, 2009
Posted by admin in : Bill Bennett , trackbackLet me make one thing clear: “I like and respect teachers!” I have a brother and sister-in law who are teachers. I was a substitute teacher during university and enrolled in McArthur Teachers College before choosing to work in the fishing lodge industry full time. My comments here are not critical of good teachers who are worth their weight in gold, but of their militant, partisan union.
The BCTF has been shovelling its member’s money off the back of a truck for several weeks now, saying we don’t care about children or education. They hope to influence the provincial election in May and frankly they seem to subscribe to the old saying that if you repeat a lie often enough, some people will believe it. So, with no disrespect to hard working teachers, here are some facts:
• B.C. has the highest budget ever [$5.68 billion].
• K – 12 education budget has increased by nearly $1.2 billion – 23%.
• We’ve invested $3.1 billion in renovations, maintenance and new schools.
• Our legislation states that the maximum class size for kindergarten is 22 students; for Grades 1-3 is 24 students; Grades 4-7 classes with more than 30 students require the consent of the teacher; and Grades 8-12 classes with more than 30 students require consultation with the teacher.
• All 60 school districts in B.C. have complied with class size legislation and government will continue to monitor class sizes throughout the province and work with parents, students, teachers and school districts to ensure balanced class size and composition.
• 95% of B.C. classrooms have 30 or fewer students.
• 99% of B.C. classrooms have 32 or fewer students.
• The number of classes in B.C. with more than 30 students has decreased by nearly 64%.
• Enrolment has declined by about 50,000 students.
• Yes, some schools have closed because it makes more sense to spend education dollars on students in the classroom than on keeping half empty schools open.
• I helped get the Sparwood high school replaced and I will help get Mount Baker in Cranbrook replaced.
The system is not perfect and will always need improvement. We are making progress, but the continued partisan, biased propaganda of the BCTF does not help students
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