Students with special needs deserve better.
That's the response from Delta Teachers' Association president Paul Steer to Minister of Education Peter Fassbender's recent letter to the Optimist about class composition issues.
Responding to an earlier story about class size and composition in Delta, Fassebender noted the number of special needs students in Delta has remained relatively stable over the last five years, while there are more classes with educational assistants. He also noted the Delta district is receiving $1.6 million this year through the Learning Improvement Fund, aimed at helping districts with complex classroom needs.
Steer made a submission of his own in response, noting while the number of special needs students in Delta has seemingly not changed much in recent years, the classes the students are enrolled in have become larger and more complex.
This school year there are 768 classes in Delta with four or more ministryidentified students and 219 classes with seven or more students who require extra ministry support, he said.
Steer also said there are many other students who require extra support but have not been designated.
"Since the creation of the Learning Improvement Fund, there are actually fewer special education teachers in B.C., not more, and significantly fewer classroom teachers as well. In Delta alone, there are 20 fewer classroom teachers than last year, which equates to generally larger class sizes overall," Steer said. "This school year, there are 118 classes in Delta with more than 30 students."
The back-and-forth between teachers and government when it comes to funding students with special needs continues as the
Delta district faces another operating deficit. The district proposes to balance the projected $3.28 million shortfall, in part, with a further reduction in teaching support.
Steer said that through a policy of progressive taxation, government should provide additional educational resources to the Delta school board and other underfunded districts.
The district has been told by the province not to budget to accommodate this year's court ruling to restore class size and composition limits to 2002 levels.
