Today, the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services released the BC Budget 2024 Consultation Report. The document includes a summary of many organizations, including the Surrey Board of Trade, and individuals that present to the Committee on a broad list of topics.
“The Committee has endorsed many recommendations that the Surrey Board of Trade presented, specifically for K-12 education,” said Anita Huberman, President & CEO, Surrey Board of Trade. “For the past six years, the Surrey Board of Trade has urged the BC Government to implement a special growth fund to pay for portables, instead of portable maintenance paid for through the school district operational budget.”
Some of the recommendations that the Committee endorsed include:
K-12 EDUCATION AND CHILDCARE
Capital Funding
· Provide targeted funding for the purchase, maintenance and relocation costs of portables and establish clearly defined timelines to ensure their use is temporary.
Vulnerable Students
· Provide financial support to school districts that provide settlement supports for newcomers to Canada who are ineligible for federal funding, including refugee claimants and temporary foreign workers.
The Surrey School District diverts more than ten million a year away from classroom funds to operate its portables. This means fewer resources for students. All Surrey students are affected and deserve equal access, opportunity, and fair treatment to quality education when they return to school in September.
Education, both quality curriculum and quality surroundings, are needed for our students to be leaders, locally and globally, through career and entrepreneur pathways.
Read the full Budget Consultation Report here.
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Anita Huberman, 604-634-0342, anita@businessinsurrey.com
