VANCOUVER – A failed attempt to wring more money out of the provincial government Tuesday left the Vancouver board of education warning parents that it now has no choice but to make “horrendous” cuts to education programs for September.

“Our short-term problem is still here,” board chairwoman Patti Bacchus stated after a tense private meeting with Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid, which was called to discuss harsh criticisms of the board in a recent report by comptroller general Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland.“We’re going to have to go out and, courtesy of the minister, make horrendous cuts to our district.”

Neither Bacchus nor the minister were able to point to any significant progress during the 50-minute meeting. MacDiarmid, who walked out of the room 10 minutes earlier than expected, said she remains deeply concerned about Vancouver’s operations — given the special adviser’s assessment — and believes the board is in denial.

“They feel that they’re doing an excellent job of governance,” she told reporters. “They’re seeming to me to be defending the status quo, and that would be something the comptroller-general definitely … has not recommended.”

Bacchus described the report, released Friday, as useless and coloured by the fact Wenezenki-Yolland is a government employee and a bureaucrat with no expertise in public education. She called, instead, for an independent review — possibly by B.C.’s auditor-general — to determine whether public-school funding, now worth almost $5 billion a year, is sufficient to cover rising costs.

In her report, the comptroller-general concluded that Vancouver’s financial woes could have been avoided if the board had managed resources appropriately.

The standoff means spending reductions that were proposed before Wenezenki-Yolland’s appointment as a special adviser — including teacher layoffs and cuts to school music programs — are back on the table.

“Are there other cuts we can make and save some of those items? I don’t know. It’s not going to be pretty. The cuts that people were out rallying against in April — they’re back,” Bacchus said.

Trustees plan to vote on a new 2010-11 budget June 23, the same day the district intends to identify several schools for possible closure. The district, which has an annual budget of about $480 million, says it needs to trim spending by $17 million, although the comptroller-general says the shortfall is closer to $11 million.

MacDiarmid described Tuesday’s meeting — her first with the board since last summer — as difficult, adding that trustees were stung by Wenezenki-Yolland’s conclusions. “We do have differing views of the report,” the minister said, adding she is deeply concerned about the conclusions while trustees were fairly dismissive.

Noting that provincial funding for education has increased this year despite difficult financial times, MacDiarmid insisted there will be no more dollars. Wenezenki-Yolland also suggested the minister should review the co-governance model for public education because the parties aren’t clear about who’s responsible for what. Connie Denesiuk, president of the B.C. School Trustees’ Association, said she would welcome such discussions.

via www.vancouversun.com

The president of the Early Learning Operators group of P.E.I. says she's not buying into the province's new daycare plan.

'Right now I have too many questions.'— Lynn Hogan

Lynn Hogan, who is owner of Campus Kids, has decided to keep her childcare centre private rather than accept increased provincial regulation in exchange for increased provincial funding.

Hogan said it is the toughest decision she's had to make in her 20 years in the business.

"Right now I have too many questions," she said.

"I feel that I'm being bullied: you do this now it's going to be simple, but if you try to do it later it's going to be more complicated for you."

The province has given daycare operators until July to either go private, sell back their licence, or become one of its new centres following new regulations. Hogan said she wants to choose how to spend her money, and she is not convinced that the provincial regulations would mean improvements at her centre.

"That's a step backwards for my centre; I think quality would be lost," she said.

Hogan estimates parents who choose her daycare will end up paying about $3 more a day than they would at a public centre. She is prepared to lose families.

But while she is ready for a possible hit in the fall when the new regulations and funding come into place, things could get even tougher for her in two years. That's when the province says it may cut off all funding to private centres. Right now she gets about $15,000 a year.

"If that's what happens and I'm forced out of business, then I will go out of business at that time," she said.

Hogan has sent a letter out to the families at her daycare explaining her decision.

via www.cbc.ca