Vancouver School Board facing $24M budget shortfall due to 'chronic underfunding'

The Vancouver School Board is facing a 24 million dollar shortfall this year and it saysthe province's promises of funding increases won't be enough to cover rising fees and salaries.

The B.C. government is increasing education funding province-wide by 179 million dollars over the next three years according to last week's budget announcement, but VSB chair Mike Lombardi says that won't make up for the rising costs of MSP fees, hydro feesand salary increases.

"The bottom line is, the government is not keeping up with the downloaded costs it's putting onto the board and that's resulting in fewer services for kids," he said.

"That's unacceptable."

This year's education funding woes are characteristic of what Lombardi calls "chronic underfunding" by the provincial government.

"The Vancouver School Board, along with other school districts, has been grappling with this funding shortfall in British Columbia for over a decade," he said.

In 2015, the province appointed an auditor to help the VSBmake budget cutsto deal with that year's $15 million projected shortfall.

B.C. has the second lowest per-personfunding in Canada when it comes to education funding, according toLombardi.

• Quesnel Kersley elementary school parents protest potential closure
• Proposed Silver Creek, Armstrong school closures have parents upset
• Prince George school board considers $100 school bus fee
• Special education enrolment penalty cuts $229K from Kootenay school district budget

Declining enrolment but not for long

Enrolment in B.C.schools is down by 70,000 students since 2001 in Vancouver over the same period, it's down by just over 6,000 students or more than 10 percent , althoughLombardi says he expects to see more families moving to Vancouver in the coming years.

"Next year, we're projecting a decline of 248 students and after that we're pretty well leveling out."

An increase in enrolment wouldput additional strain on school programs, some of which have been downsized or cut altogether over the years.

It's not something the school board wants to do, said Lombardi, but making cuts isone of the only ways to balance the budget.

"The government continually downloads costs to the school board and then we have to go and find cuts to accommodate."

Minister responds

In response to Lombardi's accusations, Education Minister Mike Bernier said funding levels are not as important as the outcomes for students.

"We have the best outcomes in the world, we have record funding in British Columbia. I think that's something the taxpayers of British Columbia and the parents here in British Columbia can be very proud of," he said. "We constantly hear from a few groups that it's underfunded, and unfortunately, when you hear that noise coming from a few groups all the time, that's what you start to believe."

Bernier said the VSB's budget has increased while enrolment has declinedand said the board should have planned for underused facilities and empty seats better. He said the $24 million shortfall is the result of "inaction" from the board, noting their problems are "not new."

"[The VSB] has had lots of time, and it's unfortunate they didn't take action to this point," he said.

Bernier also denied that rising costs were outstripping funding increases, citing contributions from the Learning Improvement Fund and funding for special needs students that go to districts province-wide.

To listen to the interview with VSB chair Mike Lombardi, click the link labelled:Vancouver School Board blames province for budget shortfall.

To listen to the interview with Education Minister Mike Bernier, click the link labelled:B.C. education minister defends funding levels