BCTF Education Funding Brief 2022 - Charting a bold path for healthy and resilient schools

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mia

BCTF Education Funding Brief 2022 outlines the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation’s recommendations to support public-led recovery and strengthen K–12 education amid COVID-19. It highlights inequities exposed during the pandemic, worsening recruitment and retention pressures, and persistent unmet student and societal needs. The brief calls for stable and predictable education funding, operational enhancements beyond inflation and enrollment growth, and prevention of downloading costs. It also emphasizes health and safety measures, mental health frameworks, resource development, inclusive communities, adult education, and resisting privatization.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages47

Reading Time1 h 58 min

AccessFree to download

Summary of issues and recommendations

Committing to a just recovery for British Columbia

Ensuring adequate funding for public education to thrive

Supporting health and safety in challenging times

Funding the Mental Health in Schools (MHiS) framework

Supporting effective teacher recruitment and retention strategies

Funding for resources and professional development

Building inclusive school communities

Supporting adult education for a more resilient society

Resisting the privatization of public education

Investing in schools and communities

BCTF Education Funding Brief 2022: Charting a bold path for healthy and resilient schools BC Teachers’ Federation Contents Summary of issues and recommendations .......................................................................................................... 1 1. Committing to a just recovery for British Columbia ................................................................................ 8 2. Ensuring adequate funding for public education to thrive.................................................................13 3. Supporting health and safety in challenging times................................................................................ 18 4. Funding the Mental Health in Schools (MHiS) framework ..................................................................22 5. Supporting effective teacher recruitment and retention strategies ................................................25 6. Funding for resources and professional development .........................................................................28 7. Building inclusive school communities........................................................................................................31 8. Supporting adult education for a more resilient society .....................................................................35 9. Resisting the privatization of public education........................................................................................37 10. Investing in schools and communities ........................................................................................................41 Summary of issues and recommendations Over the last year and a half, British Columbians have worked together to decrease the spread and reduce exposure to COVID-19. For many, this has included working from home and limiting travel and gatherings in groups. For teachers, this has often meant continuing to work in overcrowded classrooms while trying to keep students and colleagues as safe as possible. BC teachers have risen to the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as it has taken its toll. The sentiment that “this has been the hardest year of my teaching career,” has echoed across the province, with significant impacts on physical and mental health.1 Already acute recruitment and retention challenges have been exacerbated. Teachers are worried about their students and are keenly aware that an already underfunded public education system is further buckling under the strain of unmet needs. These needs are not bounded by the school bell; they are entangled in the deeper societal and economic crisis that the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified. Teachers are also on the front-line of witnessing what is needed to move BC from a crisis response to a longer-term—and public-led—recovery and reconstruction effort. BC teachers submit to government that this requires: 1 Gadermann, A. M., Warren, M.T., Gagné, M., Thomson, K.C., Schonert-Reichl, K.A., Guhn, M., Molyneux, T. M. & Oberle, E. (2021) . The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Teacher Well-Being in British Columbia, 22. Human Early Learning Partnership. Retrieved [from](from earlylearning.ubc.ca)[ earlylearning.ubc.ca](from earlylearning.ubc.ca). Committing to a Just Recovery for British Columbia Recommendation 1 That the government commit to a public-led just recovery that addresses the inequalities and vulnerabilities exposed by the pandemic to build a more resilient British Columbia. Recommendation 2 That the provincial government lobby the federal government for increased transfers to provinces and continued support for provincial borrowing by both the federal government and the Bank of Canada, making it easier to make the necessary investments in safe, sufficient, and well-resourced public services that will be a cornerstone of social cohesion and economic reconstruction. Ensuring adequate funding for public education to thrive Recommenda

FAQs

What strategies does the brief propose to improve the education system’s long-term resilience?

It emphasizes ventilation upgrades for air quality, supports for mental health in schools through the MHiS framework, funding for resources and professional development, inclusive school communities, adult education, and resisting privatization of public education.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mia