The battle between the B.C. government and the Vancouver School Board over an $18-million budget shortfall continued Monday in the streets and at the province's legislature.
Hundreds of parents and students gathered on Hastings Street on Monday to demand more funding from the government, expressing outrage over the hundreds of millions going towards a new roof on B.C. Place Stadium and a renovated Empire Field at the P.N.E.
In the legislature, NDP opposition leader Carole James blamed the government for the school board's woes, saying budget problems are widespread across the province.
"Stop the neglect of our public education system," she said.
Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid downplayed the issue, calling board shortfalls "a fiction on paper" and "not a real deficit."
MacDiarmid has criticized the VSB for proposing almost 200 job cuts and other drastic measures in an attempt to balance its books, calling the suggestions "unacceptable."
But they're not the only ones facing difficult decisions. A number of other districts, including Surrey, Langley, Burnaby, Kamloops-Thompson, Nechako Lakes, Central Okanagan, Cowichan Valley, Mission, and Cariboo-Chilcotin, are all facing multi-million dollar shortfalls.
Who's to blame remains a mystery, with boards and the government each pointing fingers. Former education minister Christy Clark accuses the VSB, who is among the most cash-strapped, of unnecessarily riling up parents and playing politics.
"No one else is coming up with the big problems that Vancouver says it can't manage, so what's unique about them?" she said.
"Either they are hopelessly incompetent or they are ridiculously political, and I think it's ridiculously political."
But long-time school trustee Ken Denike says the Ministry of Education and the school board share the blame.
He said the government isn't providing enough to cover wage increases, benefits and inflation -- but adds that the board used a surplus last year to create new positions rather than rolling it over to help in 2010.
He's hopeful the special advisor who was appointed last week to review the VSB's books will help both sides find their way out of the mess.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Leah Hendry
