B.C. election: Where's the fire over education?

Despite a decade-long court case settled against the government, a heated strike that closed schools for weeks and a fired board of education in the province's biggest city, education has yet to emerge as a defining issue of this election.

The Liberals promise to stand pat, the NDP has pledged more money, but is short on specifics, and the Green party is making big, ambitious promises, but is unlikely to form the government.

Here's a recent article I wrote about education issues and the election for the Vancouver Sun and Province.

There's a space squeeze on in schools, with Vancouver's urban schools bursting at the seams, while schools in some neighbourhoods are nearly empty. Eight schools had to turn kindergarten students away in Vancouver. In Surrey, 6,000 students study in portables. A group called Surrey Students Now says the space crunch could see all but two Surrey secondary schools move to an extended day schedule. The group is also concerned about the funding for portables and an education ministry request for a "space audit" that could see auditorium stages or libraries converted to classroom space.

Even with these significant issues, education is not getting a lot of election traction. The party platforms promise very little in the way of specifics.

All three parties promise to review the funding formula for schools, which is essential now that the teachers' won at the Supreme Court and their 2002 contracts are restored. The win means significant differences in the number of teachers needed in each district, because every district now has different rules and some districts have no class composition language at all. A one-size-fits-all per-student funding model will no longer work.

None of the parties is calling for significant change to funding for independent schools.

For post-secondary schools, all three parties promise some relief on student-loan interest and the Liberals and the NDP promise to keep a cap on tuition fee increases, although the NDP don't specify the size of the cap. Today, tuition fees can only go up two per cent each year.

On Tuesday, I moderated an education forum for election candidates, hosted by the Vancouver District Parents Advisory Council. The Liberals didn't participate, but the NDP was represented by Adrian Dix and Morgane Oger and the Greens were represented by former Vancouver School Board trustee Janet Fraser and Bradley Shende. It was an interesting evening, but there were few surprises. About 50 people showed up to hear from candidates, but other than a few digs at the missing Liberals, it was largely a friendly gathering.

In the leaders' debate Wednesday night, education was barely mentioned. Even the NDP, which is promising $10-a-day childcare, only got around to mentioning it in the closing statements. The Greens, who would extend the school system to include preschool for three and four year olds, didn't pump that during the debate.

After the election, there are all kinds of unknowns. Will school closures be back on the table in Vancouver and Richmond? Will seismic upgrades be done even if schools aren't at capacity? Will the next contract negotiations be bitter or sweet? Only time will tell.

Despite the big questions, it doesn't look likely to me that education will emerge as a defining issue before May 9.

tracy.sherlock@gmail.com