Funding for B.C. parent advisory councils cut by half

B.C.'s education minister said Tuesday that parent-advisory councils this year will only get 50 percent of the funding they got last year.

"The ministry will continue to work with school districts as best as we can, and help them as best as we can," said Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid. "I think everybody though really understands these are challenging times."

Everyone has a part to play to get the province's huge deficit under control, she said.

Parents will be expected to dig deeper to pay for supplies, field trips and sporting events, as a result.

"Parents are burnt out. We're tired of bake sales to fundraise for the simplest things, when there is so much money being thrown at the Olympics," said Julianne Doctor of the Vancouver Parent Advisory Council. "And we're struggling just to make sure there is going to be soap and water in the washrooms."

District parent advisory councils are asking citizens to complain to their elected officials about the cuts.