B.C. budget doesn't address teacher shortages, ventilation upgrades: union

The union that represents teachers in B.C. says the province's latest budget doesn't address staffing shortages or the need for ventilation upgrades.

B.C. released its latest fiscal plan on Tuesday, projecting deficits for the next several years. 

For education, the BC Teachers' Federation said the latest budget keeps to the status quo.

"There's definitely nothing in the budget that we can see will address the either chronic underfunding of the system itself or keep up with inflation, that's the concern," Teri Mooring, BCTF president, told reporters Tuesday.

"The overall budget enhancement is certainly less than inflation is currently and so we have a concern that we'll continue to lose ground because of inflation over time."

The biggest cost included in the budget accounted for more than 23,000 additional students expected in B.C. schools over the next three years. The province said more than $664 million in additional funding was allocated in the fiscal plan to address those costs, bringing the budget for kindergarten to Grade 12 education to more than $7.3 billion.

The second highest expense is for the transfer of child care into the Ministry of Education. The union said it's "critical" that this transition be fully funded, so that B.C. education isn't further impacted.

Finance Minister Selina Robinson told reporters Tuesday that parents can expect to pay about $20 per day on average for child care by the end of 2022. She said the province planned to create 40,000 more child-care spaces over the next seven years, and would also fund more inspectors to make sure the spaces were up to standard.

The budget also included more than $3.1 billion to build and seismically upgrade schools throughout B.C.

However, Mooring said several items appeared to be missing from the 2022-23 budget, including "plans to address the critical teacher shortage in B.C."

Mooring also said no funding was set aside for inclusive education for students with diverse needs and nothing was earmarked for training to support reconciliation. The union president also noted a lack of funding for improved ventilation, even as COVID-19 recovery continues.

The 2022-23 budget is expected to have a deficit of $5.461 billion.