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Private schools get plenty of funding

Regarding private schools saving the taxpayers money, this is not true. The provincial government does fund independent or private schools.

To the Editor,

Regarding private schools saving the taxpayers money, this is not true. The provincial government does fund independent or private schools. Funding of independent/private schools began in 1977. That is when enrolment in independent/private schools began to increase, taking a large share of the provincial education budget.

Funding for independent/private schools has increased by 61.1 per cent while public school funding has only increased by 19.7 per cent in the same time frame, according to a Ministry of Education budget review from 2015. Also, public school finances are open to public scrutiny, but the same cannot be said for independent/private schools in B.C.

It is interesting to note that Christy Clark’s son goes to private school and that she has led the attack on public school funding which began when she was minister of education in the Campbell government.

So in conclusion, private/independent schools do not save the taxpayers any money at all.

Jan BaldwinNanaimo