Message from the minister of education, Rob Fleming

When I became the minister of education in June 2017, Premier John Horgan and I made a commitment to British Columbians that government would work for them, and to improve our schools for their children. After years of underinvestment, we told people that better days were ahead – and then, we got to work.

We’ve since approved almost $1 billion of capital spending for the sector – investing in schools at a rate never seen before – so that students can benefit from positive, safe learning environments. With 5,600 new seats at new and expanded schools announced from the Lower Mainland, to the Okanagan, Vancouver Island, and Fort St. John, thousands of B.C. families can finally look forward to sending their children to 21st century classrooms, rather than portables. We’re also delivering on our commitment to seismic safety, with nearly $550 million already approved for seismic upgrades or replacements at 28 B.C. schools, that is nearly 18,000 safe new seats, with many more to come.

I’m sure many of you were thrilled to see these announcements taking place. I’m pleased to now see shovels in the ground at many of our new projects. I personally enjoyed being part of the ground-breaking ceremony recently for the new Edgewood Drive elementary school in Surrey – one of many important projects that will go a long way in reducing portables for students.

We’ve also had great success implementing our Playground Equipment Program, so parents aren’t forced to hold bake sales and car washes to pay for better playgrounds for their children. The first round of funding provided new playground equipment to 51 different schools, giving over 11,000 children a better place to play. I’m excited to tell you that another round of funding will be announced in the spring, so that even more communities can benefit.

I want to thank you all for the roles you play in each of these projects – you are crucial to our goal of improving schools for B.C. students.

While previous governments may have had large school capital budgets, far too much money was left on the table. Our government promised to spend our capital dollars efficiently– and I’m proud to say we plan to spend all of our annual school capital budgets. That includes distributing $115 million to school districts through the Annual Facilities Grant, which recently increased for the first time since 2004.

But there is more to be done, and Budget 2019 is a great example of that. Announced on Feb. 19, our new budget shows that our commitment to education is strong. We’ve increased our provincial three-year capital budget by another $600 million to $2.7 billion. We’ll continue our work with school boards to see current projects through, and add new projects to capital plans so students can benefit as soon as possible.

All of this is providing better opportunities for our students – the future of our province. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together so far, and I can’t want to see what’s ahead. n

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