REPORT TO COUNCIL
SPECIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON CULTURAL COMMUNITIES
July 9, 1997
RECOMMENDATION
1. Vancouver School Board Budget Cuts File: 3055
It has been brought to the attention of the members of the City of
Vancouver's Special Advisory Committee on Cultural Communities that
significant cuts to the Vancouver School Board budget have resulted in
the recommendation of staff cuts, an overview of which will include the
elimination of four District First Nations Resource teachers, the entire
seven person ESL team, the sole position dedicated to Anti-Racism in the
District and the position of Equity Staff Development Co-ordinator.
In the opinion of the Special Advisory Committee on Cultural
Communities, these cuts will not only result in a devastating effect on
the thousands of students and families who rely on these resources but
will set Vancouver Public School education back decades.
The Committee has grave concerns that the short term solution
proposed by the Vancouver School Board will lead to very long term
problems. Education is more than reading, writing and arithmetic. The
City of Vancouver and its School Board have been proudly regarded as a
model with progressive innovative programs stressing values that enhance
the social and multicultural fabric of our city. The City needs more,
not less pro active education programs aimed to contribute to more
inclusive and harmonious inter relationships between all cultural
groups. The highest quality of education and standards developed from
the benefits of the professional input into these programs so vital to
the well being of the City must not be put into jeopardy.
The educational system can not work in a vacuum. We fear that the
Vancouver School Board's short term solution to deal with its financial
problems will leave our City vulnerable to increased fragmenting amongst
various communities, the potential of increased proliferating of youth
gangs and subsequent increase in crime.
The Committee is particularly concerned about the elimination of
the sole district anti-racism position. Given the cultural diversity in
the city and Vancouver School Board has over 54% ESL students,
anti-racism work in schools is necessary and a priority. The current
anti-racism program should be expanded and not eliminated. A district
resource to co-ordinate cross-disciplinary workshops for students and
teachers in areas of race relations, anti-racism, psychosocial trauma,
orientation and school based prevention workshop is critical. Moreover,
school based intervention and problem solving to deal with issues of
racism and discrimination is extremely important in order to provide a
safe learning environment for all of our children and youth. In
January, 1997, a Vancouver secondary school city wide conference was
held, organized and attended by students. City-wide student surveys
identified "Racism" as one of the top five concerns in schools. (See
Appendix A.) The elimination of this sole anti-racism position could
lead to inflamed racial tension in our schools. We hope the Vancouver
School Board will declare anti-racism work as a priority and re-instate
the anti-racism staff position.
Therefore, the Committee
RECOMMENDS
THAT Council express its great concern to the Vancouver School
Board with regard to the impact that the proposed cuts will
have, if implemented, and urge the School Board not to target
the areas of multiculturalism, First Nations, anti-racism and
ESL education for its cuts.
"John Kuchmistrz"
Chair
Special Advisory Committee on
Cultural Communities
CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The Vancouver School Board is a separate entity from the City of
Vancouver. Like all major government institutions, the VSB is facing
significant cuts to their operating budget. Determining where proposed
cuts will take place is a challenging process for elected officials.
The Board has made its priority decisions through its processes. It
would be inappropriate, in my view, for Council to comment to Vancouver
School Board budget decisions.
APPENDIX A
VANCOUVER SECONDARY SCHOOL
CITY-WIDE YOUTH CONFERENCE
January 21, 1997
Tuesday, January 21, 1997, marks an important date in the long-term
plan of improving the school environment for Vancouver high school
students. One hundred Vancouver secondary school students, plus staff
representatives from the Vancouver School Board, Vancouver Park Board
and the City of Vancouver developed action plans on issues of importance
to youth across the city of Vancouver. Staff members were asked only to
provide information but not opinions. This was the first time a
conference of this magnitude had been planned.
What made this conference unique was the Youth Steering Committee
and the joint advisory role of the Vancouver School Board, Vancouver
Park Board and the City of Vancouver. The steering committee was
composed of student representatives from most Vancouver secondary
schools. Planning was a long and tedious job which began eight months
earlier in June, 1996.
Steering committee members designed a survey that asked youth to
prioritize issues in and about school. Forty surveys were sent to each
of the 18 Vancouver secondary schools. School representatives were
asked to survey a cross-section of their school s students. Surveys
were then collected by Randy Clark, Vice-Principal at Tupper Secondary,
and compiled by Daphne France and Clara Shamamanski in Career and
Community Education Services. The ten issues which students felt should
be discussed in more detail were: Career and Personal Planning;
Environmental concerns; Extracurricular activities; Employment;
Post-secondary Education; Racism; Sexually Transmitted Diseases;
Consistent/Fair Treatment by Teachers/Staff; Violence in the
Home/Relationships; and Youth Violence.
Schools next selected between 5-10 students to represent the total
student population. Students could select what issue they wished to
develop an action plan for. The discussion groups that resulted were:
Career and Personal Planning (1); Environmental Concerns (1);
Post-Secondary Education (3); Racism (3); Consistent/Fair Treatment by
Teachers/Staff (1); Violence in the Home/Relationships (1); and Youth
Violence (2).
City-wide school surveys identified the top five issues that
students are most concerned about are:
(1) Post-secondary Education
(2) Consistent/Fair Treatment by Teachers/Staff
(3) Employment
(4) Racism
(5) Youth Violence