What: Submit recommendations for education funding in the provincial budget
Time Required: About 15 minutes
Where: Budget 2027 Consultation link at consultation-portal.leg.bc.ca
Why: To increase funding allocated to education
Deadline: Friday, June 19, 2026 at 2pm
PLEASE NOTE: Submissions are published, so please do not include personal information.
BC Parents: We Need Your Voice by June 19!
Many parents have noticed the changes.
Classes are larger. Supports are stretched thinner. Educational assistants are supporting more students. Counselling services face growing demand. Programs that once enriched the school experience have been reduced or eliminated. Schools are being asked to do more with less.
These challenges are often discussed separately, but they share a common cause: funding.
The Province has a finite budget, and each year decisions are made about where public dollars are allocated. Public education is not competing with a lack of resources, but with other priorities. When education receives a smaller share of provincial spending, school districts must absorb the impact.
Parents now have an opportunity to influence this conversation.
The BC government is currently gathering public input for the 2027 provincial budget. According to the Minister of Finance, submissions from British Columbians are reviewed and considered as part of the process. This is one of the few direct ways families can communicate their priorities to provincial decision makers.
Budget priorities are shaped by what people speak up about. If parents want education to receive a greater share of provincial funding, that message must come clearly and consistently from families across BC. A handful of submissions will not be enough. Meaningful change requires many voices speaking together, as seen in April when parents successfully advocated for the Province to cover the $9.4 million in teacher back pay.
Not sure what to include in your submission? Consider the following:
- Your experience in your child’s school, whether larger classes, fewer supports, reduced programs, longer wait times, or students learning in portables.
- The need for stronger operating funding, which pays for teachers, educational assistants, counsellors, support staff, and programs.
- The importance of stable, predictable funding rather than temporary grants that disappear while student needs remain.
- The distinction between capital and operating funding. New schools and additions are important, but buildings do not staff classrooms or provide student supports.
- The future you want for public education and the investments that would make the greatest difference for students.
You do not need to be an expert. Your lived experience as a parent is often the most powerful contribution you can make. Each adult in a household can submit separately, and every submission strengthens the message.
To support families in this effort, Nicole Gladish, PhD, Health Policy and Genetic Epidemiologist at Stanford University and a concerned Burnaby parent serving as Treasurer for the Forest Grove Elementary PAC, has conducted extensive research to develop two resources: one providing background information, recommendations, and guidance for preparing a submission, and another offering a detailed explanation of how BC funds schools.
The deadline is Friday, June 19 at 2pm.
If we want public education to receive a greater share of provincial funding, decision makers need to hear consistently from the families who experience the consequences of these decisions every day.
PLEASE NOTE: Submissions are published, so please do not include personal information.
