Because of Christy Clark’s war on teachers, an entire generation of BC kids were robbed of the public education that they deserved.

Christy Clark’s war on schools started when she was still our Minister of Education – and lasted for sixteen years. In that time, an entire generation of students struggled in underfunded classrooms.

The BC NDP believes in a strong, supported public education system all the time – not just when forced by the courts. On May 9, we have our chance to come together and make sure another generation won’t be lost.

Here are four ways Christy Clark’s choices on education aren’t working for BC’s children:

1- More than 200 schools closed

More than 200 schools have been shut down since the BC Liberals took power. When the BC Liberals shut down schools, they are shutting down the future of communities.

And if your neighbourhood school didn’t close, there’s a good chance it’s not safe. Before the last election Christy Clark promised to upgrade 45 schools at high risk of collapse in an earthquake by 2016. Only 12 have been upgraded.

2- Courtrooms instead of classrooms

While children struggled in overcrowded classrooms, Christy Clark spent millions fighting teachers in court. $2.6 million to be precise. After Christy Clark ripped up teachers’ contracts, two courts deemed her actions illegal, but she continued to appeal their decisions.

Eventually, her fight reached The Supreme Court of Canada. The Supreme Court took less than 15 minutes to rule against Christy Clark’s government and declare her actions as Education Minister unconstitutional.

3- From second best to second worst

Christy Clark took BC’s public education system from the second best funded in Canada to second worst. This leaves kids in BC without the help they need to unlock their full potential and forces parents to pick up the tab for fundraising and school supplies.

Because of Christy Clark’s cuts, BC schools lost almost a quarter of our specialist teachers.

The number of specialist teachers like librarians, counsellors, special education teachers, English Language Support teachers and Aboriginal education specialists has declined by 23 per cent.

And our kids have paid the price.

4- Overcrowded and under-supported

Between the time that Christy Clark began her war on public education and when she lost her war in the Supreme Court of Canada, 1.2 million children spent time in overcrowded and under-supported classrooms.

Christy Clark’s choices have undermined our public schools.

John Horgan and the BC NDP will make education a priority and work hard to fix the services you count on.

Our commitments to kids and classrooms include:

• Contributing $30 million per year to our school system to ensure kids have the school supplies they need to succeed.
• Creating an ongoing capital fund for school playgrounds.
• Working with school districts to successfully implement BC’s new school curriculum and providing new technology, lab equipment, learning material and professional development support for teachers.
• Acknowledging that a per-pupil funding model doesn’t work for our diverse education system in BC and undertaking a comprehensive review.
• Replacing Surrey portables with real classrooms, building new schools in BC’s fastest growing region.
• Working with local governments, First Nations and communities in every region of British Columbia to build new schools and upgrade existing ones.

And we’ll do all of this in a way that puts parents, kids and their teachers first.

If you care about education, we encourage you to vote for John Horgan’s BC NDP on May 9.

Learn more about our full list of commitments to British Columbia here.