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.

via www.vancouversun.com

P.E.I.'s Department of Education says it's on track in its plan to move kindergarten-age children from daycare centres into the province's public school system in September.

The provincial kindergarten curriculum is currently taught mainly in private child-care centres.

The space for the new integrated kindergarten classrooms has been allocated to accommodate the more than 1,200 children who have registered for the fall, Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Doug Currie said Tuesday.

"This is the largest educational initiative in the modern history of our province, and I am pleased to advise parents and the public that we are on target," Currie said in a news release.

More than 50 new school buses have been ordered, and the province says they will have enough child safety seats to accommodate children who weigh less than 18 kilograms. Classroom furniture, equipment and teaching supplies have also been ordered.

Stewart Darrach, vice-principal of Westwood Primary School in Cornwall, said 11 new classrooms are under construction at the school.

"Personally, I think this is an excellent move and … opportunity that we're having here with a new addition on to the school and for students coming in."

Currie said the parents and caregivers in the province have many questions about the process of integrating kindergarten into the public school system. In the spring, families will be invited to school information sessions where they will be able to meet kindergarten teachers and tour classrooms.

Uncertainty for teachers

Despite the progress, there are still issues that must be worked out, particularly having to do with the hiring of kindergarten teachers, said Sonya Corrigan, executive director of the Early Childhood Development Association.

"There are still a number of uncertainties around early childhood educators' futures, as far as knowing when they will receive confirmation on employment, where that employment will be and what their educational future looks like, as well," she told CBC News on Tuesday.

The province is hiring more than 100 kindergarten teachers, with many current staff at private daycare centres and preschool programs expected to fill the positions. Certified early childhood educators are being given first consideration for the new kindergarten positions.

Teachers in P.E.I. elementary schools must have a bachelor of education degree, but while the usual prerequisite for such a degree is a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree, that requirement has been waived for child-care workers who want to work in the new integrated kindergartens.

Instead, all new kindergarten teachers hired who do not already have a bachelor of education will be required to complete a modified two-year bachelor of education program at the University of Prince Edward Island by 2016. The Department of Education said interested teachers have already been interviewed by UPEI.

Certified educators who are 50 or older and have a certain number of years of experience teaching kindergarten-age children will be exempt from the university program requirement.

The province is also waiting for a report from Kathleen Flanagan, an early childhood education consultant who is drafting a plan on how to alter the program for the children who will remain in daycares when kindergarten-age children move into the public school system.

via www.cbc.ca