COVID-19: Double mutant first identified in India is now in B C canada.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from canada.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
“And that’s a $5-million question, so we think that’s extremely positive for our local context right now,” she said. It’s not clear whether there’s enough funding in the budget to avoid programming cuts entirely, Howe said. Due to the deficit, the Greater Victoria School Board has been discussing cuts to music programs, education assistants, meal programs and programs for gifted students. Students, parents and teachers have expressed concern at the potential cuts, with one class at Lansdowne Middle School holding a roadside concert last week to show its support for music programs. The annual K-12 budget in B.C. is rising to more than $7.1 billion, a hike of about $500 million from the 2019/2020 budget. However, with about $1.1 billion of that being absorbed by wage increases and enrolment, “it’s essentially status quo,” said Kevin Kaardal, president of the British Columbia School Superintendents Association.
Status quo budget offers no relief for school districts facing shortfalls timescolonist.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timescolonist.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools 2020-21 annual amended budget projects a $1.4-million operating fund loss mainly due to families choosing online, distributed learning over sending their kids to attend school in person. The provincial funding rate per student is $1,460 less for distributed learning (DL) than the in-person, or regular, funding rate. Another contributing factor, grades 10-12 students are taking fewer courses, which the district has responded to by adding staffing to help students meet grade level, says a Feb. 10 staff report. The district projected 137 K-9 students and 59 grades 10-12 students to enrol in DL this school year. The actual enrolment in DL turned out to be 831 for K-9 and 81 for grades 10-12. The province s regular per student rate for 2020-21 is $7,560, $6,100 for DL and $250 for homeschooling. Fifty-five students switched to homeschool.
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B.C.’s education minister understands parents’ anxiety at news that a highly contagious COVID-19 variant has been detected in seven schools in the Fraser Health region, but says the fact that those infected have not passed it on to others shows that school safety measures are working.
“It’s very good news that the testing that has been done so far has indicated no transmission,” Jennifer Whiteside said during a news briefing on Monday. “What that tells us is that our safety plans are working. Where our safety plans are adhered to, we see very low transmission rates in the schools.”