School trustees from around the province joined New Democrat MLAs at a press conference today, calling for an end to the school funding chaos created by the Campbell government.

“The Education Minister’s sudden change to school funding has resulted in deep budget cuts for school boards,” said David Cubberley, NDP Education critic. “And school trustees from all corners of the province – from the Lower Mainland, to Vancouver Island and Northern British Columbia – are speaking out about the uncertainty and instability this decision has created.

“New Democrats are standing alongside school boards. We’re calling for an end to these senseless cuts, which came without notice and without consultation. The Minister was wrong to proceed with these changes mid-year, and she must reverse her decision to change the school funding formula,” said Cubberley.

On Oct. 18, the Ministry of Education made a surprise announcement via e-mail that funding would be changed to reflect student course loads instead of student population. As a result, districts are losing hundreds of thousands of dollars from their budgets, putting student programs at risk.

“This is the worst example of the Campbell government’s broken promise to provide stable funding for school boards,” said Jenny Kwan, MLA for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant. “It’s a slap in the face to trustees, parents and students, who went through a public process and developed balanced budgets for the current school year.”

Cubberley added that the Minister’s actions since the Oct. 18 announcement has created even more confusion for school boards.

“There are reports that the Minister may be making accommodations for school boards facing budget cuts as a result of this abrupt change,” said Cubberley. “But we have seen no formal admission from the Minister to date. The Minister must go on record and commit to school boards today that this funding cut will not affect their bottom line for the current school year.”