Families Against Cuts to Education’s April 12 parent rallies to protest underfunding of public education in the media.
Parents protest the provincial government cut funding for education
World Journal – April 13, 2015
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Parents, students, teachers, politicians protest in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Maple Ridge and Kelowna The Vancouver Sun – April 12, 2015 (also published in The Regina Leader-Post)
Stephanie Karl and her family recently moved back to Vancouver after six years in the U.K., and they’ve found a big difference between the public education systems in Europe and B.C.
“The school that she’s at is great and the teachers are fantastic,” Karl said of her daughter Caoimhe’s Vancouver classroom, “But we’re always having to fundraise ourselves for classroom improvements, which should be funded by the government.”
The growing prevalence of fundraising to support public education was a key theme as parents gathered at the Vancouver Art Gallery to support the Families Against Cuts to Education (FACE) rally on Sunday.
People, along with a group called Families Against Cuts to Education, rallied against cuts to public education today at Vancouver Art Gallery in Vancouver, B.C.
The Vancouver Sun, The Edmonton Journal, The Ottawa Citizen
PHOTO: Jing Wang, right, a Vancouver School Board student trustee, rallies Sunday along with a couple hundred others and a group called Families Against Cuts to Education at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
The Edmonton Journal – April 12, 2015
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Protesters rally at Vancouver Art Gallery against cuts to public education
The Province – April 12, 2015 (also published in The Times-Colonist)
Parents across B.C. rallied Sunday in support of adequate funding for school boards.
“The government is trying to balance the budget on the backs of our kids, while increasing funding to for-profit private schools,” FACE organizer Quinn Donovan told the assembled crowd, many with schoolkids in tow. “I think a lot of people thought with the end of the strike there would be renewed funding for public schools.”
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B.C. parents rally for public school funding
24hrs – April 12, 2015
Hundreds of parents and children collected at the Vancouver Art Gallery Sunday, protesting against province-wide funding cuts in the education budget in B.C.
The non-partisan Fix BC Ed group, founded by parent Jennifer Stewart, organized the Families Against Cuts to Education rally in Vancouver, which triggered rallies held at the same time in Maple Ridge, Victoria, Kelowna and Nanaimo.
Participants shared stories of fundraising for their children’s schools to purchase things such as classroom supplies, library books and computers, which parents say shouldn’t be their responsibility but the province’s to ensure the public education system is better funded.
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Lack of programs and safety concerns highlighted during rallies against education funding cuts
News 1130 – April 12, 2015
A strong, yet familiar message is being sent to the province.
Rallies were held across the province today against funding cuts to the public education system.
School boards have been asked to find tens of millions of dollars in administrative costs that can be eliminated.
Jing Wang is a Grade 12 student in Vancouver and says while programs are disappearing, schools are falling apart. “That doesn’t even become an education issue, it’s purely health and safety. I’ve seen in my own secondary school, tiles falling from the ceiling.”
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Kelowna Parents Protest Cuts to Their Children’s Education
Kelowna Now – April 12, 2015
Kelowna families rallied Sunday afternoon to show that they were willing to stand up for public education.
The family-oriented rally was organized by local parents as part of Families Against Cuts to Education (FACE), and was held in conjunction with rallies in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, and other communities. The event was non-partisan, and several participants stressed that the group was of mainly middle class parents who were ready to stand up for their children’s education.
A mother of two,Shelley Courtney’s goal for Sunday’s march was a greater awareness for families. “A lot of parents don’t realize they have a voice and that it’s important for them to speak up as well and defend public education.”
“We live in a democratic society,” said Courtney. “The cornerstone of a strong democratic society is a strong public education system. As long as we let this government tear away pieces of our education system, the weaker we as a society become.”
‘Enough,’” said Courtney. “We don’t want more cuts to education. There is no more low-hanging fruit to be found in school board offices, Premier Clark. The low-hanging fruit is in Victoria.”
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Public education rally held at Memorial Peace Park in Maple Ridge
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Times – April 12, 2015
Suggesting that under-funding is a myth when it comes to public education in B.C. is an “incredible insult” to educators and school trustees throughout the province.
Families Against Cuts to Education 