The School District No. 5 (SD5) Board of Education feels disrespected by the provincial government due to an ongoing snub by the Minister of Finance in terms of responding to a series of budget-related letters from the board.

The board’s letters to Minister of Finance Michael De Jong note support and encouragement for the province to act on recommendations in the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services’ Report, noting the benefits to education in the province.

At its public board meeting last week, the SD5 board voted unanimously to write another letter, a fourth in 15 months, requesting a progress update on the 2014 Report on the Budget recommendations for kindergarten through grade 12 (K – 12), as well as a request for progress on their 2015 and 2016 reports.

The annual report is put forward by an all-party committee (‘Committee’ refers to the Select Standing Committee on Government Finance and Services (SSCGFS) following province-wide public consultations on the provincial budget in accordance with the Budget Transparency and Accountability Act.

“At SD5 we feel that the committee’s reports have accurately reflected the needs of K -12 public education and its level of public priority,” said SD5 Board Chair Frank Lento. “This is why the board would like to know what, if anything, has come of the committee’s recommendations since 2014.”

According to Lento, previous reports on the budget have recommended government provide stable, sustainable and adequate funding, including capital funding. This year the committee also recommended government review their current public education funding formula.

“Since October 2014 we’ve written three letters to the Minister of Finance asking for updates on what government has done – or plans to do with these recommendations – but to date our board hasn’t received even a cursory reply. Last week we voted to send a fourth letter,” said Lento. “I have to say that it’s disappointing – disrespectful in fact — when the elected representatives for education in the East Kootenay can’t get a response to our concerns.”

The recommendations are too important to ignore, Lento added. For this reason, the board’s January 2016 letter has been addressed to Premier Christy Clark and Minister of Education Mike Bernier in addition to Minister of Finance, Michael De Jong.

“The provincial government’s own reports show –bang on, in my opinion—that funding for public K – 12 education should be a public spending priority, and that investment in this sector can increase achievement of economic and community goals. Ignoring these recommendations appears to be short-changing the economic potential of our students and that has to be fixed,” he stated.

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