Dear Editor:
I'm a Port Moody resident and parent, and a Burnaby teacher. I recently attended the budget meeting for the Burnaby school board, and it left me disheartened at best.
The provincial government requires school boards to create balanced budgets based on such limited financial resources that programs will need to be cut, jobs will be lost, students will suffer, and teachers and other staff will experience even more stress and burnout than we currently do. This situation is not unique to the Burnaby district (though Burnaby has the lowest funding per student this year in B.C.).
All of this is due in no small part to the provincial government's choice to underfund public education. How is it OK not even to provide school boards with enough money to maintain programs and services as they currently exist? I've experienced firsthand the harmful effects of fewer supports for students, especially the most vulnerable ones.
Public education must remain vital, vibrant, respected and well-funded. Under the Liberal government, this is not likely to happen.
A well-educated, politically active, critically thinking citizenry is important - and without more money for public education, it is simply not possible.
Katie Marsh, Port Moody
