Schools will build our future

This is the last of six editorials dealing with issues that could determine Tuesday’s provincial election. The first five concerned government finances, housing, the economy, environmental protection and health care. Today’s looks at education.

In a political sense, the battle lines are probably already drawn when it comes to our school system. The current B.C. Liberal administration fought a prolonged legal action with the teachers’ union that drove the two sides apart. While the union eventually prevailed, and the government agreed to an increase in staffing, it’s likely hard feelings persist.

This is hardly a novel situation. The B.C. Teachers’ Federation quarrelled repeatedly with the NDP when it was in power during the 1990s.

Yet when it comes to managing and financing our K-12 system, any new government must face several major issues, regardless of past animosities.

Funding, or the shortage of it, is the most immediate concern. The number of school-age kids has been dropping for more than two decades, and provincial grants are tied to pupil numbers.

There are some signs the decline might have reached its bottom, and if so, we might see grant levels begin to rise again.

But funding for K-12 education, of all the social programs, has been hardest hit over the past decade and a half. Allowing for inflation, public schools received less money in 2016 than they did in 2001. As a result, almost 250 schools have been closed over that period, including 16 in the capital region.

While demographics might be the immediate cause, the hardship is undeniable, particularly in rural communities where well-paid jobs like teaching are hard to find. It might be time to consider reinvesting in this essential service.

Governance is also an issue. There are 60 school boards in B.C., some with only a few hundred pupils. With resources tight, amalgamations might make sense.

Greater Victoria, for example, has four school boards, with numerous senior managers earning six figures. Perhaps it’s time to consider some trimming of the bureaucracy.

Then there is the Vancouver School Board, fired last year for refusing to balance its budget. An independent report by Vancouver lawyer Roslyn Goldner found that several trustees routinely bullied staff, causing the entire senior management to check out on sick leave.

But those board members most closely associated with the bullying have remained defiant. If they are returned in school-board elections next year, the education minister might have an explosive situation to deal with.

Perhaps the most vexing question is how to prepare high school kids for the rapidly changing world of work. The Ministry of Education recently embarked on a major overhaul of the school curriculum.

Many of the changes focused on “concepts” and “learning processes” and relied heavily on the views of classroom teachers. There was less input from the business community, employers or the post-secondary system.

It’s too early yet to pronounce the new curriculum either a success or a failure: It won’t be fully in place until next year.

However, the ministry should empanel a group of industry and trade representatives to watch closely the outcome. We already know, from international test scores, that B.C.’s high schools perform well in the basics — language skills, math and science.

But the world needs engineers, computer programmers and robotics specialists. How well we impart these skills will make the difference between a prosperous future for our kids and the threat of unemployment.

This election comes at a critical moment in the social and economic life of our province. Whichever party wins, it is essential that government and teachers put aside politics and work together to build a world-class school system.