Students need support, not excuses

Re: “School funding is failing vulnerable students,” comment, May 28.

Trustee Jason Price’s commentary suggesting public-school funding is failing vulnerable students is exactly what is happening to students in the Saanich school district. As a retired educational assistant and former member of the CUPE union executive, I have sat at many past education-budget meetings.

I’ve seen the days of adequate funding for special education and indigenous students prior to 2002. I’ve also seen the budgetary shortsightedness imposed by the B.C. Liberal government’s educational policies that saw the closing of seven schools in order to sell land to meet budgetary shortfalls.

The present budget reflects the decrease in funding based upon the total number of students to be served, not accounting for increases in building and maintenance costs, and increases from many government-imposed taxes and fees on school districts. Until there are more students in the district, that is if more land is excluded from Agricultural Land Reserve so land speculators and developers can build profitable housing units for families, there will continue to be an educational budgetary shortfall.

Special needs and indigenous students deserve proper financial support from this new government in power and not the same lame excuses from the past 16 years. Rafe Sunshine Victoria