Not having received any answer to my previous letter, I called the office of Jordan Sturdy, MLA, and eventually spoke to someone in his office. The conversation was not hugely illuminating, but I remained hopeful. By August, it seemed pretty clear that unless something dramatic happened, schools would not open on time. I wrote to Jordan Sturdy again, hoping for some sort of answer.
I received no reply.
Subject: Schools and strikes
Date: August 20, 2014 at 9:20:58 PDT
To: jordan.sturdy.mla@leg.bc.ca
Jordan Sturdy
Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
Dear Mr. Sturdy:
Some months ago I asked you to explain your position on education. While I did speak to someone in your constituent office who very politely listened to my views, I have not had a single word of explanation from you or your office about your position on the conflict or on the role of public education in the province.
The problem is urgent. The new school year is meant to begin in less than two weeks. As a parent, I am deeply worried that the conflict between the provincial government and the teachers’ union will not be resolved and that school will not resume on time. I am not interested in the $40 per child per payment for daycare. I do not want “daycare” for my children: I want good, qualified teachers, a classroom, and a curriculum, none of which that $40 would buy. That money would be far better spent on teacher salaries.
Incidentally, the Ministry of Education’s arithmetic on these payments seems faulty. Here’s what the Vancouver Sun reported a few days ago:
The government is proposing to pay the $40 daily child-care funding to an estimated 340,000 public school pupils out of the $12 million a day it expects to save in teacher salaries during the strike.
Ministry of Education claims that this $40 payment will come out of the $12 million per day that the province will “save” by not paying teacher salaries.
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/child+care+subsidy+paid+until+after+strike+over+ministry/10129066/story.html
Note that 340,000 x $40 = $13,600,000; claimed teacher salary savings are only $12 million. In other words, this “child-care funding” would cost the province more than $1.6 million dollars per day than would having teachers in the classroom!
This seems emblematic of the absurdity of the provincial government’s position. I think it is time that you made your own position clear. I do look forward to hearing from you.
André Lambelet
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