Frustrated parents at New Westminster Secondary School voted for trustees to resign, the province to intervene in the district and to look into the possibility of amalgamating with Burnaby.
Parents packed into the school’s library for the parent advisory council meeting on Thursday night to discuss the district’s dire budget situation and how it will impact students.
“The financial mess is our mess. We’ve moved to take care of that by eliminating staff,” board of education vice-chair Michael Ewen, who attended the meeting, told The Record.
He also noted parents are frustrated the bid to replace the high school has hit so many hurdles in the 14 years they have been waiting for a replacement.
“One of the problems is that this (school replacement project) is extremely complex, and we’re not communicating that very well,” Ewen said.
Communication overall has been an ongoing issue in the school district, according to Ewen.
“Cleary we are not getting the information out there,” he said.
As for next year’s budget, the board, at this point, isn’t looking at cutting any programs wholesale, Ewen said.
At the meeting, parents said they want the budget information for next year by March 6, including a breakdown of the supplies, services and programs that will be cut, Ewen said.
But he told parents that the district could provide it by March 14. That’s when the Ministry of Education figures come down, he said.
“We could do an estimate based on this year’s budget … but there are no guarantees,” Ewen said about the earlier deadline.
Regarding the prospect of amalgamating with Burnaby, Ewen said it would be a “mistake.”
“What we’ve tried to do at the secondary school is offer an extremely comprehensive program to meet all of the needs of the city – fine arts, music, sports program, international baccalaureate, French immersion, things that aren’t done in that way. In other schools districts it’s one per school,” he said, explaining that a particular program could be as far away as North Burnaby.
“If we were to be amalgamated these programs would either be moved or shut down,” said the longtime trustee, adding he understands parents are frustrated.
New Westminster Secondary School parent advisory council chair Stephen Bruyneel could not be reached for comment at press time.
