Peter McIntyre Monday, 21 December 2009 10:55 107.5 KISSFM
A Vernon union leader says schools will continue to suffer as long as the BC government uses its current funding formula. Mark Olsen is the president of CUPE local 523 which represents school support workers. He's dismayed District 22 is facing 2.5 million dollars in spending cuts next year. "They're going to have to look long and hard at everything, and I think we really have to join together as a community and say, 'We've got to stop this. We've got to stop the bleeding off and amputation that's taken place in the education sector.'" Olsen says custodial workers lost their jobs after the cuts this year, and he expects more CUPE staff to be impacted in the next round. Olsen says special needs students could be one of the hardest hit if the school board has to lay off certified educational assistants who are CUPE members. "It will make it very difficult for teachers to perform their job. The CEA's provide the service to assist them and by cutting them it's going to make teacher's jobs more difficult and of course, the job losses are going to be mounting." Olsen calls the cuts the last two years "insane", saying the $2.7 million in cuts this year and $2.5 million in 2010, amounts to eight percent of the total budget.
1 comment:
As usual the Union can't see the forest for the trees.
The only reason for cut backs in spending in School districts, is the lack of students.
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