Burger King Education

The Liberals are at it again. I recall when I was working for the BC NDP government, our efforts to "modernize BC Education" and to cut costs. We moved from 75 school districts to 60. That was likely as low as you can go and still have some democracy and local control over education.

The current musing of the Minister of Education Margaret MacDiarmid reek of a seek and destroy mission. The Liberals seem adverse to democracy at any level and have been working to implement a business model of operations on the Province. Witness Health Care. The Liberals eliminated local elections, local appointees. They have CEO's that run the regions like fiefdoms of days gone by or as one would run a Burger King franchise.

Amalgamating school districts will see elections of local trustees impossible, see decisions made behind closed doors and no remedy in case of local conflict.

Now that's not all the good Minister has been up too. She has slashed, that's not quite right, she has eliminated priority maintenance, safety and energy and cost saving expenditures on infrastructure. The last time this happened was in 1991 when the then unSocial disCreditED government totally abandoned school infrastructure spending. They of course when down in flames in the fall election.

This time in BC, an election is not looming soon. It is over three years away. What to do in the interim?

Perhaps the HST will save our schools? If you believe that, the tooth fairy is also on the way!