Arts, culture and sports groups for adults, along with environmental organizations, won’t receive any grant money from the B.C. government this year, under new rules and restrictions announced today.
The changes, which are expected to impact hundreds of charities and non-profits across B.C., come as the province cuts the amount of money it provides to community groups out of more than $1 billion in annual gambling, casino and bingo revenue.
Housing and Social Development Minister Rich Coleman admitted government will spend less on charities than it did in 2008 because of tough economic times.
The amount of gambling revenue allocated to community gaming grants this year is $120 million, down $36.3 million from 2008/09.
More than 6,800 organizations receive a share of the money each year, and many have said they would be unable to operate without the government support. When government tried to clawback millions in funding in last September’s budget update, outraged groups created a political nightmare for the Liberal government in the form of a flurry of bad news stories and protests.
As part of the new cuts announced today, any charity of non-profit group that serves arts and culture programs to adults will have its funding eliminated this year, Coleman said.
Exceptions apply to youth groups, as well as groups that use the money to host fairs, festivals or museums. However, those groups will only receive $4 million, about half the amount of previous years.
Environmental groups, including wildlife rescue organizations, will also receive no funding this year. Adult sports groups and school playgrounds have also had their funding eliminated. Sports for youth, and sports for people with disabilities, retain their grant money, government said.
Some organizations will remain unaffected by the change. Public safety organizations, such as local search and rescue groups or volunteer fire departments, will get 100 per cent of the grant money from previous years, government said.
Funding also remains uncharged for charities and non-profits in the “human and social services” sector — food banks, meal programs, shelters, transition houses, public health programs and boys and girls clubs.
Parent Advisory Councils will see funding cuts from last year restored to 2008 levels. PACs now receive $20 per student (up from $10 per student last year) but lose any additional bingo affiliation grants.
The province will honour any three-year commitments it had signed with charities, but said it will only offer year-to-year deals in the future. As well, it reaffirmed a funding cap of $100,000 per group, or $250,000 per provincial organization.
The changes also signal the end of bingo affiliation money for charities, as the province rolls bingo grants into the larger community gaming grant pot. Some groups may see gaps in funding because the bingo grants had different application deadlines, but the province has offered “interim partial payment” to help affected organizations.
To offset grant cuts, Coleman pointed to $10 million for arts groups and $10 million for sports groups promised this coming year as part of a three-year, $60 million, Olympic legacy fund announced in the provincial budget last week. However, the money is not placed in community gaming grants, and will require a separate application process for charities.
NDP arts critic Spencer Herbert slammed government for cutting money from charities. He called the announcement “fun with numbers” as the province trumpets a small amount of new funding for arts and sports in its budget, but then removes a larger amount in grant cuts.
Charlottetown, The Guardian – Kindergarten transition underway
Kindergarten transition underway
TERESA WRIGHT
The GuardianIt’s a major undertaking but the transition of kindergarten into the public school system on P.E.I. is well underway, says Education Minister Doug Currie.
Department staff has been busy over the past several months putting in place a number of key components to make Island classrooms and educators ready for kindergarten beginning in Island schools in September.
Many major tasks have already been completed, including the registration of students and the assignment of space for kindergarten in all schools.
More than 1,200 students have been registered at schools across the province for kindergarten this fall.
“I’m very pleased with the progress of the transition at this point,” Currie said Tuesday.
“I’ve got to be honest, I’m very excited about the work that’s going on. The thing that I’m most excited about is that we’re going to have five-year-olds for the first time in the history of this province who are going to have the same opportunities of every other five-year-old in Canada.”
To accommodate the over 1,200 new students, 50 new school buses have been ordered and bus routes are being developed. It is anticipated there will be an adequate number of child safety seats on school buses for children who weigh less than 40 pounds.
Classrooms are being prepared and formatted for play-based learning. Rather than rows of desks, there will be activity tables, computer centres, learning stations and soft floor space. Kindergarten furniture, equipment and supplies are being ordered now so that classrooms will be equipped by the fall.
Teachers already in the school system are also being prepared for the new, younger students entering their schools.
Sessions on play-based learning and the kindergarten curriculum have been held for over 300 department and board staff, school administrators and Grade 1, resource, music and phys ed teachers.
More sessions will soon be offered for school counsellors, teacher librarians, Grade 2 teachers, specialists and support staff.
But kindergarten instructors are still in limbo. Early childhood educators (ECEs) were given priority for the approximately 110 kindergarten teaching positions that are now available.
The department has interviewed and selected the necessary number of ECEs for the jobs, and they have all applied to UPEI for a special bachelor of education program developed to enable them to obtain their degree over a six-year period.
But school boards can’t offer these ECEs positions until the P.E.I. Teachers’ Federation changes its collective agreement with the province. The federation has a policy not to release details of its contract negotiations.
Teachers’ Federation president Carrie St. Jean would only say they are ongoing.
“We’re still in negotiations with government to get a settlement,” St. Jean told The Guardian Tuesday.
“Until we have an agreement, they can’t do anything. And right now that’s where it stands. We’re
very anxious for that to get settled but it isn’t settled yet.”
Once the federation has an agreement, all teachers in the province must vote on whether to accept it.
Currie said he is confident in the overall progress of the kindergarten transition but said the job is far from over.Initiatives:
Here are some of the kindergarten transition initiatives that will soon be offered to parents and incoming students:
— All children registered for kindergarten this fall will take part in an assessment of their developmental skills. It will indicate how well children are developing in self-awareness, cognitive skills, language and communication, and gross and fine motor development. The half-hour assessment will be adm
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