Re: "Clark seeks a lasting peace with teachers," Oct. 18.
Premier Christy Clark "imagined" students in Grade 2 continuing through to Grade 12 without threat of labour disruption. I would like to assure her that all teachers, support staff, families and citizens would also like to see this. However, Clark has lost sight of the most critical detail necessary to bring this to pass.
In 2002, as minister of education, Clark passed the Public Education Flexibility and Choice Act, which resulted in removing about $275 million from public education funding each year. This was a devastating blow.
As a trustee and a retired teacher, I also "imagine" all students from kindergarten to Grade 12 experiencing an effective educational experience based on more teachers to meet more needs, fewer split grades, more learning-support teachers to target our bright students with learning disabilities, much more counselling support, full-time educational assistance for full-time students with significant and severe behaviour challenges and proactive educational assessments for high-need students who enter the system in kindergarten, Grade 1 and 2.
I encourage every citizen in our community to realize and support the necessity of reinstating this very essential funding. The 80 per cent of citizens who do not have children in the education system should understand that public education, the great builder of equality, definitely has the potential to create literate and competent students who then bring greater employment, stability, creativity and vitality to our communities.
Deborah Nohr Trustee, School District 61 Victoria
