Parents, teachers and students attending the Delta school board's budget consultation meeting Tuesday night in Ladner made it clear they don't feel deep spending cuts are fair.
Speakers expressed various concerns about the proposed budget for the 2013-14 school year, but the common thread was the need to look for efficiencies elsewhere.
The school board is looking at various measures to balance a projected $3.46 million deficit.
The allocation of one-time money late last year by the Ministry of Education and higher than projected revenues from Delta's International Student Program will help offset the deficit, as well as increased revenues from other areas, but that still leaves just over $1.9 million remaining to be chopped.
The proposed cuts include reducing several custodial positions, increasing student-teacher ratios and cutting education assistants that support students with special needs. In total, 16 fulltime jobs are to be eliminated.
The single biggest area to be impacted is the district's bussing program, which will see funding from Victoria cut in half, meaning students in rural areas will have to make their own way to school.
Special needs students will still be transported, but the board will have to take a further look at that program once provincial funding for the transportation budget shrinks further next year.
Noting parents weren't advised until late Friday the district was planning to eliminate the bus program, Cheryl Kristiansen suggested efficiencies could be found elsewhere, including consolidating routes.
Several other parents also conveyed concerns about the safety of their children walking to school because adequate transit isn't available. Some, noting they feel their kids are being discriminated against, pointed out parents were willing to pay a fee to ensure the service keeps running.
"There has to be a cost-effective way for this service to stay in place. All of our children have special needs," said Jill Roberts, a parent of a student attending Pinewood Elementary.
Kristiansen also pointed out very little was being reduced from district administration, something a couple of others during Tuesday's session also noted didn't seem fair to frontline teachers and staff.
Lisa Boyle suggested the school board move out of "its ivory tower" and get involved in schools, finding out firsthand how dollars are being spent.
Several people, including teachers and students, spoke about a proposed reduction in the subsidy for school teaching cafeterias, forcing them to generate more revenue and be more self-sufficient.
Lois Pilling, an instructor at Delta Secondary, noted the program is an important one because it attracts a variety of students, including those who would fall though the cracks because they normally wouldn't be enrolled in an academic program. Sam Ross, a student who credits the program for helping him land a job, said hundreds of students have benefited from it.
Gerald Worobetz, a program instructor at SDSS, also raised concerns about student safety as teaching assistants that act as supervisors in the kitchen have been reduced.
Delta Teachers' Association president Paul Steer told trustees the budget cuts are clearly unacceptable. He went over several issues, including a plan to cut English language teaching assistance to international students even though the school board is hoping to bring even more of those students to Delta.
"It bothers many, many teachers when they see the educational experience of international students falling far, far short of what the total educational experience should be for these lonely individuals. There's a moral aspect of this issue that many teachers find very troubling and must not continue to be ignored," Steer said.
Saying the proposed cuts will be a difficult choice, school board chairperson Laura Dixon said questions posed at budget meeting will be answered at next Tuesday's board meeting.
The district is required to submit its budget to the province by June 30.
