April 24, 2010
Setting the Record Straight on Education Funding

VICTORIA – During her address to the B.C. School Trustees annual general meeting on Friday, NDP leader Carole James continued to mislead British Columbians on government’s increased investment in education, despite the fact the NDP’s own election budget actually called for far less funding for K-12 education.

“Carole James and the NDP like to talk about putting more dollars into education, but the facts tell a very different story. The truth is our government has increased funding for education every single year – far in excess of what the NDP election platform said they would invest in education,” says Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid. “The NDP platform would have provided $71 million less funding for education over the past two years."

Education Funding Comparison
NDP Platform planned investment 2009/2010: NDP $50 million, BC Liberals actual investment $84 million.
NDP Platform planned investment 2010/2011: NDP $75 million, BC Liberals actual investment $112 million.

The fact is the BC Liberals have invested nearly 60 per cent more funding than the NDP committed to provided during the 2009 election campaign.

“The government is providing record funding this year for K-12 education, despite having 60,000 fewer students in our education system than in 2001. We now need to ensure that those tax dollars are being focused on students in the most efficient way possible,” says MacDiarmid. “For Carole James and the NDP to call for more spending when they would have invested less is hypocritical.

“If Carole James and the NDP are going to continue to call for further spending, they need to come clean on where they’ll take those dollars from. Would the NDP cut funds for health care, or would they increase taxes on B.C. families?”