(The following article is from the July 1-31,  2010 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)

By Kimball Cariou

     Nearly a year after the devastating news of cuts to provincial funding for a wide range of public services in B.C., the first round of the fightback is drawing to a close. But the battle over British Columbia's fiscal and social priorities is entering a new stage with the implementation of the HST on July 1.

     The Campbell government is stepping up its defence of the "hated sales tax," but the Liberals are also facing new setbacks. Petitions containing the names of nearly 700,000 citizens will be turned in by the end of June, demanding that the government rescind the HST or hold a referendum on the controversial issue.

     The overwhelming public pressure finally got to Liberal MLA Blair Lekstrom, who resigned as Campbell's energy minister in June rather than continue defending the imposition of the HST. It remains to be seen if other Liberals will follow suit, but another half-dozen defections would deprive Campbell of his majority in the Legislature.

     The Premier is looking at two difficult political options: use his majority to reject the HST petition, or agree to hold a referendum. The first would solidify the Liberal image as dictatorial and arrogant, probably reducing their standing in the polls even further. The second would likely result in a big vote against the HST, blowing a hole in Campbell's third term pro-business agenda.

     Meanwhile, the government has bought some time to ponder another critical issue, but not much. The end of the school year may bring a temporary lull in the fierce debates over education underfunding across the province. The only school board which has not adopted a balanced budget is Vancouver, which is set to hold a final vote on June 23.

     In virtually every case, the "balanced" budgets have included major reductions in staff and programs, school closures, and other negative impacts on public education. The controversies will hit the front pages again when classes resume in September, and schools feel the full brunt of the cutbacks.

     Much of the media attention in this struggle has focused on Vancouver, home of "The Board that Roared," to quote a Globe and Mail headline. The Vision/COPE majority on the VSB has been the most vocal in B.C., rallying students, staff and parents to demand full funding for costs downloaded by the province. About 150 of the Vancouver district's 3,000 staff will be laid off as a result of the funding shortfalls.

     Earlier this spring, there was a lively discussion around the VSB's options, which included refusing to adopt a "compliance" budget. That option, however, was not favoured by groups which back the board's campaign on provincial funding. Among the teacher unions, Parent Advisory Committees, and groups which mobilize around inner city schools, Aboriginal education, and special needs students, an overwhelming consensus developed that the VSB trustees should not set themselves up to be fired by Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid. This view is based on a realization that as the fight for the future of public education in British Columbia continues to heat up, the most outspoken trustees in the province need to be in the thick of it next year.

     A new poll proves that west coast teachers are deeply concerned about the government's policies. Commissioned by the BC Teachers' Federation, the survey finds that 79% of teachers believe "the provincial government is on the wrong track when it comes to its education policies and funding decisions."

     Teachers identified underfunding and program cuts as their top concerns, followed closely by class size and support for children with special needs. The survey polled 1,000 teachers between April 26 and May 1. More than 70% of teachers say teaching and learning conditions have worsened since the government stripped their collective agreements several years ago, and 97% believe it is time to put class-size and class-composition language back into collective agreements.

     While the Premier and MacDiarmid tried to pit Vancouver trustees against the rest of the province, the hard facts from other school districts prove that Vancouver's problems are not an isolated case.

     Chak Au with the Richmond School District told a recent news conference that school boards province-wide are struggling with $250 million in shortfalls. "It cannot be the case that all 60 school boards in the province are lacking in capacity in managing their money," he pointed out.

     Parents in rural areas are making the same point. People in School District 10 (Arrow Lakes) are waging a letter writing campaign to criticise the government's inadequate funding.

     "It's time the government fully funded public education," says a sample letter from District 10. "Stop forcing Boards of Education to make cuts to programs and services to pay teacher wages and benefits (approximately 85%) out of the piece of pie (approx. 15%) allocated for books, paper, heat, light, bussing, field trips etc. etc... Why should the children of SD #10 have to worry each year that their community school may be closed, or the band program may be cut, or that they may have to take a provincially examinable course by correspondence because we just can't afford a teacher to teach the class? "

     In School District No. 46 (Powell River), the 2010/11 budget cuts $2 million in teacher, staff and administrator positions.

     "We continue to not be able to afford the kind of supports that I think we'd like to have in our schools," Powell River board chair Silas White said at the June 4 meeting which adopted the budget. Staffing cuts will amount to between four and six per cent reductions of staff.

     School's out for summer, but the Campbell government's headaches will not disappear.