Three large education advocacy organizations in Surrey are calling on the B.C. Ministry of Education and the Surrey school district to prioritize the system with adequate funding and resources that they say are severely lacking.
At a press conference at the Surrey Teachers' Association (STA) office on Tuesday morning (Jan. 21), president Lizanne Foster, CUPE 728 president Tammy Murphy and District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) president Anne Whitmore took the education minister to task for not promising more for the sector.
"Instead of committing to solutions to overcrowding, under-staffing and program closures, the government is proposing a sweeping review of education services," Whitmore said. "This audit risks tying up valuable district resources — time, energy and money that should instead be directed to students and families that need support right now."
She further stated that if the province really wants to learn about students' educational experiences, they should be speaking to the actual school community, including the STA, CUPE 728 and DPAC.
However, Murphy said that although several attempts have been made to reach new Education Minister Lisa Beare, there has been no response from her office.
"In the meantime, kids have very small windows for learning and getting the basics that they need before their adult life. In the meantime, we have kids going without the supports that they need," Foster said.
"Every single day, they're being disappointed because they're not getting what they need, and that is tragic, and we're tired of pointing that out."
It is no secret that overcrowding is a hot-button issue in the Surrey school district, the province's largest school district. And with that has come a variety of mitigation strategies over the years, such as portable classrooms, some schools getting additions built, modular building classrooms and now, extended days.
While these provide some relief, the groups say they are no real, long-term solutions.
"Sometimes they will have a lunch time that is not the same lunch time as their friends ... that makes a huge difference to the quality of your experience at school," Foster explained about extended days that are now at seven secondary schools and may expand to more next year.
The social dynamic is integral in schools, the STA president further said, but "a lot of the time, the people who make the decisions have not been in a school for decades."
On the topic of overcrowding and other "untenable" working conditions in Surrey's schools, Foster and Murphy say staffing is impacted. While the district is "always hiring," finding people who want to be teachers and support staff continues to be a challenge, they add.
"Having a safer area for staff provides a safer learning area for kids. ... Working conditions is huge, huge, huge, and it's something we're always fighting for. A lot of people think it's money, but it's not," Murphy emphasized.
The groups further asked for accountability from the school district and the ministry, with Foster saying that the two often spend time passing the buck back and forth.
"While the government speaks of efficiency and relevance in education, families in Surrey feel the weight of chronic under-funding and resource shortages that continue to hinder the success of our students," Whitmore said.
"We either pay now or we pay later."
Under-funding in the district has led to many cuts, including two StrongStart program cancellations, three of five learning centres closing and the majority of students losing bus services that they formerly relied on to get to and from school.
"We deserve a government that prioritizes action over process. We are also worried about the watering down of election promises," the DPAC president added, pointing to Premier David Eby promising during the election campaign to ensure each K-3 classroom would have an educational assistant and each elementary school would have a mental health counsellor.
The groups' demands to the government are to fulfill the election promise, stop the closures of StrongStart and the learning centres, and provide targeted resources for each student to have an educational experience that is equitable and accessible.
