YOUR PERSPECTIVE: That time of year again- Welcome back to school!
Summer has flown by and fall approaches as students throughout the Province head back to school this week. Even though we’ll miss the summer fun, I am sure that everyone will be excited to see their friends and favourite teachers in the classroom this year.
As a former School Trustee and current MLA for Langley East, I believe that the future of both our youth and this province will be determined largely by how well we all fulfill our obligation to provide our children with the best education possible. As we strive to achieve this goal, we are fortunate to have robust facilities and dedicated educators who can open world-class opportunities for our kids.
Since 2017, our government has invested in seismic upgrades and classroom expansions for multiple schools here in the Langley School District (SD35), including Peter Ewart Elementary, Vanguard Secondary and Shortreed Elementary. In 2021, we opened the new seismically sound Donna Gabriel Robins Elementary, providing quality education for 555 more kids in the Langley Township area.
Back to school should be an exciting time for families. However, I know that global inflation is a concern for an increasing number of families as the cost of living goes up and they budget for school supplies, groceries and gas. That is why our government announced $60 million dollars in funding in this past week for school districts to give parents a break in the 2022/23 school year through the Student and Family Affordability Fund. This $60 million dollar fund adds to annual funding that the Ministry of Education and Child Care provides school districts to help fund things like counselling, breakfast, lunch and snack programs or after-school programs.
