2011 News
Burnaby News Leader: School district to tackle shortfall of $4.5 million
Wanda Chow – Burnaby News Leader
March 7, 2011
When it comes to developing budgets for Burnaby school district, this year’s situation is the same as in recent years—starting off with a shortfall.
Just maintaining the status quo of services will result in a deficit of $4 million to $5 million due to increased costs, such as contracted wage increases, said Burnaby school board chair Larry Hayes.
On the plus side, according to preliminary figures, it appears the district will manage to end the current school year with a $2.5 million surplus, thanks to some salary savings, more investment income than expected and higher-than-expected energy savings. Read more
Georgia Straight: Vancouver and Burnaby school districts expect funding cuts
March 3, 2011
Carlito Pablo
Premier-designate Christy Clark’s pledge to put B.C. families first on her agenda will be put to the test soon.
According to Patti Bacchus and Larry Hayes, chairs of the Vancouver and Burnaby school boards, respectively, that opportunity will come when the Ministry of Education announces in mid March the funding allocations for the 60 school districts across the province.
Vancouver and Burnaby are anticipating budget shortfalls for fiscal year 2011–12. Like a number of school districts in B.C., in previous years they had to reduce services in order to balance their budgets, as required by provincial legislation. Read more
Contact Burnaby MLAs
MLA Richard Lee, Burnaby North (BC Liberal)
- Email: richard.lee.mla@leg.bc.ca
- Constituency office: 1833 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby, V5C 5T1, telephone: 604 775-0778
MLA Harry Bloy, Burnaby-Lougheed (BC Liberal)
- Email: harry.bloy.mla@leg.bc.ca
- Constituency office: 220 – 3355 North Rd, Burnaby, V3J 7T9, telephone: 604 664-0847
MLA Kathy Corrigan, Burnaby-Deer Lake (NDP)
- Email: kathy.corrigan.mla@leg.bc.ca
- Constituency office: 150 5172 Kingsway, Burnaby, V5H 2E8, telephone 604 775-2414
Read Corrigan’s Op Ed in the Burnaby Now newspaper: Liberals failing to protect education
MLA Raj Chouhan, Burnaby-Edmonds (NDP)
- Email: raj.chouhan.mla@leg.bc.ca
- Constituency office: 5234 Rumble St., Burnaby, V5J 2B6, telephone: 604 660-7301
2010 News Archives
Burnaby News Leader: NDP leader takes province-wide tour to Burnaby
Septemebr 14, 2010
Wanda Chow, Burnaby News Leader
Byrne Creek secondary’s students are part of the future of B.C.’s economy and an example of why the province needs to better fund education, said BC NDP leader Carole James during a tour of the South Burnaby school recently.
“The real strength this school has is having kids from all parts of the globe,” said James.
“Everybody talks about a global economy and that we all have to prepare for a global economy. What I saw in this school is the global economy is here.”
James was in Burnaby as part of a provincewide tour of schools to highlight education issues.
“To simply look at education as a cost is missing the fact that if we provide a good education for our young people, we’re investing in our future. We’re investing in a strong economy.” Read more
Burnaby Now: Politics or fiscal folly?
June 9, 2010
Jennifer Noreay, Burnaby Now
Burnaby school board chair Diana Mumford is raising concerns about the comptroller general’s report on the Vancouver school board, a report alleging trustees are to blame for the district’s multimillion dollar deficit.
With a $16.32 million budget shortfall on hand, the Vancouver school board has been condemning the provincial government for under funding education while considering cuts to balance its budget. The Education Ministry asked comptroller general Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland to investigate the board’s financial dealings and report back.
Her report, released June 4, criticizes the board for focusing too much on political advocacy rather than managing its own affairs. Read more.
Burnaby News Leader: Burnaby Board of Education makes painful cuts
April 28, 2010
Wanda Chow – Burnaby NewsLeader
After grappling with a $7.8-million shortfall for the last several months, Burnaby school board approved a balanced budget for 2010-2011 Tuesday night, but not without some painful cuts.
While last month the school district heard inklings from the education ministry that it might be restricted in how it uses its surplus, it hasn’t heard any official word yet, said board chair Diana Mumford. Read more
Burnaby Now: Two-tiered education
April 28, 2010
Dear Editor:
As a public school teacher of almost 20 years, I have read your editorial letters on public vs. private schools with interest.
I am not in favour of private schools as they exist, and I believe they should receive no funding from the public purse. Let me explain. Read more
Burnaby Now: School board cutting 42 positions
April 28, 2010
Jennifer Moreau – Burnaby Now
The Burnaby school district is cutting 42 full-time positions and increasing class sizes to deal with a $5.2-million deficit next year. School trustees voted to make the cuts at the April 27 school board meeting.
Secretary-treasurer Greg Frank said the cut positions are in a number of areas: mostly administration in schools and at the district head office. The biggest reduction is 11 non-enrolling teachers – they mostly work as support staff for classroom teachers. Read more
Straight.com: Burnaby school board must find more than $5 million in savings
Charlie Smith – Georgia Straight
April 27, 2010
The chair of the Burnaby school board says she and her colleagues will have to find $5.3 million in savings when they vote on their budget this evening (April 27).
In a phone interview with the Georgia Straight, Diana Mumford said that trustees are legally required to balance their $200-million budget.
“It’s going to impact a whole number of areas,” she said. Read more
News 1130: Burnaby school budget decided tonight; class sizes could increase
Amelia John – News 1130
April 27, 2010
BURNABY (NEWS1130) – Students in the Burnaby School District could be facing larger class sizes in the coming year. Burnaby School Board trustees will be voting on their budget tonight, and they need to find an extra $5.3-million. Read more
Burnaby NewsLeader: Burnaby provides community school funds
By Wanda Chow – Burnaby NewsLeader
April 14, 2010
Burnaby city council has approved $394,987 in funding as its share of the costs to operate the city’s seven community schools for the upcoming school year. Read article
Burnaby Newsleader: Uncertainty continues despite school funding announcement
23 March, 2010
By Wanda Chow – Burnaby Newsleader
The school funding numbers may be in from the education ministry, but uncertainty continues to hamper Burnaby school district’s budgeting efforts.
One thing’s for sure, layoffs in the district are inevitable, confirmed district secretary-treasurer Greg Frank. Now it’s just a matter of how many and where.
Frank said the ministry’s funding announcement last week gives Burnaby $3.3 million more in operating funding for 2010-2011 than it received this school year. Read article
Public education advocates in Burnaby have come together to launch a campaign called “Stop the Cuts Burnaby 2009-10″
SD 41 Board Chair warns: ‘Our public education system is in crisis.’
- Read the Board Chair’s report on the funding crisis
Excellent section on Burnaby education issues!
Thanks for caring about our students!