Overhaul of ‘outdated’ education funding model in B.C. incomplete

VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) — Replacing the province’s 16-year-old funding model for K-to-12 education could take more than two years.

Education Minister Rob Fleming says replacing the current system requires more input from parents, teachers, support workers and administrators overseeing nearly 560,000 students.

RELATED: Nearly half of Vancouver students opt out of FSA tests

“It’s outdated. It’s overly complicated and it hasn’t given students the supports that they need in school,” Fleming says. “The current model we have –that has produced so many frustrations– was imposed in 2002 without any consultation, and it was designed in an era of enrollment decline. It was accompanied by cuts and record numbers of school closures all across B.C.

“Today, the context is very different.”

The overhaul has already been in the works more than a year, but Fleming admits it could be the fall of 2020 before it’s complete.

“Going into this review and transitioning to a new model is very good,” he says. “We’ve added $580-million worth of new funding, we’ve hired 3,900 new teachers a 1,000 new educational assistants.”

RELATED: Hiring of teachers in B.C. could soon speed up, after legal win for BCTF

He adds a key recommendation among the 22 put forward by a review panel includes stronger support for vulnerable students.

“Special needs organizations themselves have asked government for additional time to understand these recommendations, to be able to make suggestions based on their own experiences as parents or as practitioners and we will do that. We will take the time to get it right,” he says.

Fleming says working groups will be formed in January and must report back in the fall.

“We’re not transitioning to the new funding model this government fiscal year, and that we want to engage them further and work with it during, I suppose, the tail end of the current school year and potentially into the new one,” he says.

B.C. Teachers’ Federation supports review

Glen Hansman, the president of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation, says teachers have been waiting years for these improvements, so it makes sense to take whatever time is needed to iron out the details.

“Especially the recommendations around inclusion of students with special needs, regardless of which community they live in. Our court win around class size and class composition certainly helped because that drove a whole bunch of teaching positions back into the system that were gone during the days of the BC Liberals.”

Hansman says upcoming contract talks will address some, but not ALL the recommendations now under review.

“Improving class sizes in West Vancouver or improving class composition needs in other parts of the province isn’t dependent upon any change of a collective agreement. It’s something the government can do by improving how those districts are funded.”

RELATED: Still 400 vacant BC teacher positions, over a month into the school year

The union leader says action is needed immediately to fill at least 400 full-time job vacancies, as well as hire more substitute teachers.

“And we also need to hire certified teachers to replace the historically high number of people without teaching certificates that are working in school districts in the north and in the Interior. We need to get going separate and apart from the whole funding review process.”

He adds bargaining for the current contract which expires at the end of the school year is slated to start in February.