Photo courtesy Global BC

By Richard Zussman, Global News, with files from CKPG Today

Education

Province provides funding supplement to B. C. school districts for children and youth in care

Feb 7, 2020 | 2:32 PM

VICTORIA — The provincial government has put in place new funding for children and youth in care as part of changes to funding to school districts.

The change will also expand priority funding to more children with mental health challenges and those living in low-income families.

“We’ve heard loud and clear that years of neglect have left far too many of our most vulnerable children not getting the supports they need to be engaged and successful in school,” Education Minister Rob Fleming said.

“Our government is doing things differently by putting the success and well-being of students first while ensuring equity in the way we fund public education.”

The BC Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) is applauding the fact the province didn’t switch to a “prevalence model,” which was suggested by the government’s own funding review panel.

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“Rather than funding based on the needs of individual children, much of the funding would be based on the prevalence of a child’s condition or disability across the student population at large,” reads a description from the BCTF’s magazine.

“Students with special needs deserve (and are legally entitled to!) appropriate and consistent care that is tailored to their actual disability and specific needs, not guesswork.”

BCTF President Teri Mooring says teachers had been working hard to convince the government to back off the prevalence model because they “were concerned about the negative consequences for students with special needs, their parents, and their teachers.”

The province says the funds announced on Friday are intended for supports like trauma counselling, school breakfast or lunch programs, additional support in the classroom, recognizing mental health issues and early intervention, or tutoring.

So, what does this mean for students in the north?

“We as a board have not had a chance to really dive into what that’s necessarily going to mean for our district,” says Board of Education Chair for School District 57 Tim Bennett.

“As well, like most years, funding isn’t announced for the district until March 15. So, we do have a provincial budget next week which will tease a little bit about what is going to be coming to education but the board will really know our numbers after March 15.”