Funding cuts “a miscarriage of justice”

An already upset Kamloops-Thompson school board was further outraged Monday as trustees learned the school district is short an extra $200,000 on top of funding cuts made last week.

“Pardon me in advance for being shrill about this, but it irks me,” said school board chairman Ken Christian.

“We will, as a board, approach our MLAs . . . and see that this miscarriage of justice is corrected.”

On Friday the B.C. government eliminated an annual facilities grant program for school districts worth $110 million. Kamloops-Thompson's share is roughly $3 million.

On Monday trustees heard the province no longer allows school districts to collect lease or rental payments from the Francophone School District.

That eliminates the $91,020 collected for use of the former Oak Hills primary building from Kamloops-Thompson’s 2009-2010 operating budget, said secretary treasurer Kelvin Stretch.

And Stretch told trustees a holdback fund of $107,890 received in June has been “clawed back” until next year, leaving the district out the amount for the coming school year.

“Our challenge is to deal with the $198,910 reduction in revenue prior to filing our February 2010 amended budget bylaw,” said Stretch, adding school districts are required to operate with a balanced budget.

Stretch said losing the annual facilities grant will leave the district $2.16 million short once contractors are paid for work completed during the summer.

The amount sits in a special-purpose fund kept separate from the district’s operating budget, he said.

Trustees were barely able to contain their anger at the province yanking funds a week before students head back to school.

“To me, it seems like we get a plan, we get the plan going, and then midstream they go and change the rules,” said Joan Cowden.

“Who is this going to impact? Of course it’s going to impact the students.”

Gerald Watson said requiring school districts to have balanced budgets and then pulling funds so they run a deficit shows “a disregard for the process.”

“Our reserves have been stripped and I think this is unconscionable,” he said.

Christian said yanking the annual facilities grant at a time when the province is looking to jumpstart infrastructure programs doesn’t make sense.

He said the fund paid local contractors and their families and stimulated the economy.

“Why would you take the one infrastructure project that actually puts men and women in our community to work and yank the funding on it? It makes no sense,” he said.

Annette Glover said school districts across the province must pursue some kind of recourse.

“Why are we required to be legal when the government is not?” she said.

Trustees are scheduled to meet with MLAs Kevin Krueger and Terry Lake next week.

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