Facing the teachers

Photo: Kate Bouey

Teachers were polite but skeptical about the Liberal government's commitment to education during an all-candidates debate at Vernon Secondary School Tuesday night.

All four candidates running in the Vernon-Monashee district were present at the Vernon Teachers Association-sponsored forum that lasted over two hours.

Incumbent Liberal MLA Eric Foster was questioned about the Clark government's stand on education after losing a battle with teachers over class sizes in the Supreme Court of Canada last November.

“Your party had 15 years to do what was right for students,” Kevin Water in the audience told Foster. “A court forced you to.”

Water asked what it cost the B.C. government for legal fees and what-he-called “anti-education ads.”

“I don't have an exact answer,” said Foster, conceding “it was a tremendous amount of money.”

Green Party candidate Keli Westgate accused the government of spending $7 million in the last year “on lawyers fighting teachers.”

Westgate said her party planned to increase funding for K-12 education.

“Education must be properly funded,” she said.

Libertarian Don Jefcoat said his party also planned to bump up funding to $10,000 per student from the current $7,000 but added that some of that funding would go to independent schools.

“I believe in funding private education and alternative education as well because not everyone learns well in the classroom.”

NDP candidate Barry Dorval, a teacher himself, was a favourite of the crowd.

“Education is critical,” Dorval said. “I am so disheartened about what the Liberals have done over the last 15 years.”

Dorval said the government had embarked on cuts and confrontation that had damaged the education of his own children.

Other questions focussed on mental health funding for students, the cost of post secondary education, a lack of childcare spaces and affordable housing and increased downloading onto parents.

Foster told the crowd he was proud of the province's education system and reminded them “the money has to come from somewhere.”

“There's only so much to go around,” Foster said.