Students and parents came out in force last night to voice their concerns and objections to an $18 million dollar budget cut proposed by the Vancouver School Board.
Outside Mount Pleasant Elementary, where the Board of Trustees were meeting, a band of students gathered with instruments and signs to protest the elimination of their music and arts programs. When a Trustee came out to tell them they were disturbing the meeting, parents calmly responded saying, “Your budget cuts are disturbing my child’s education.”
Just inside the school’s gymnasium, hundreds of parents and students gathered to hear the cases for saving various programs with long-term social ramifications. On the chopping block are various arts programs but also other important support structures like ESL classes and integration counseling for new Canadians. The cuts also threaten the jobs of guidance counselors who are aware of and deal with so much more than when I was in school.
There were some moving and thoughtful presentations from students and parents alike. The most memorable for me was a talk by a couple whose child came to them in grade eight and announced that his gender was not that of the body he was born into. They were so grateful for the help both they and their child received to ensure the best possible transition while protecting the child’s education, social life and sense of worth.
The proposed budget cuts go to a vote next week.
