BURNABY parents are warning of immediate and long-term damage to classrooms after the Province failed to commit funding for a $9.4 million arbitration award owed to teachers, leaving the Burnaby School District to cover the cost through cuts.
The Burnaby District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) is calling on the Province to provide a full $9.4 million funding solution before the May budget deadline so that the 26,000+ Burnaby students do not bear the cost.
“This is a provincially created bill being pushed to Burnaby schools to pay,” says Paul Kwon, Chair of the Burnaby DPAC. “If the Province doesn’t provide a full solution, Burnaby students will pay through further cuts to classrooms and services”.
The Burnaby DPAC says that the $9.4 million amount is salary-arbitration-related costs tied to a misinterpretation of SD41s agreement during the provincial bargaining in 2022, awarded by an independent arbitrator and upheld by the BC Labour Relations Board. The district has publicly stated that this is not simply a normal local budget question layered onto the annual budget cycle. This is a new unfunded pressure of up to $9.4 million, with no committed provincial funding in place.
Burnaby had been rebuilding its unrestricted reserve after last year’s devastating cuts. Because boards of education are legally required to pass a balanced budget, unresolved province-level costs place direct pressure on local services and school communities, which can mean even more severe cuts to classrooms.
Burnaby schools already faced significant reductions last year. This is a new unfunded pressure of up to $9.4 million, with no committed provincial funding in place. It will place serious pressure on student services, staffing, and long-term financial stability, says the Burnaby DPAC.
There is no remaining buffer in the system.
The Ministry of Education’s annual operating budget exceeds $6 billion. The $9.4 million owed to Burnaby represents a fraction of that total, yet its impact at the district level is significant, says the Burnaby DPAC.
It says that without full provincial funding:
- Burnaby’s reserve will fall below recommended levels
- Future budgets will move deeper into deficit
- Cuts will extend beyond a single year and become structural
The Burnaby DPAC is calling on the Province to:
- Provide a full $9.4 million funding solution before the May budget deadline.
- Address long-standing gaps in the K–12 funding model
