More education assistants and school counsellors were big-ticket promises by BC New Democrats in the last election campaign. But as the Opposition highlighted this week, the government isn’t on track to meet either.

“It’s been two years since this government promised an educational assistant in every kindergarten through Grade 3 classroom,” Opposition Conservative house leader Á’a:líya Warbus said Monday during question period.

“Since then, we’ve seen school districts like Surrey be forced to let education assistants go, instead of hiring them.”

Warbus wanted to know when the government actually plans to hit its election goal.

But answers were not forthcoming from Education Minister Lisa Beare.

“We know that this is a difficult budget year all around for everyone,” she said, perhaps slightly downplaying the record $13-billion projected provincial deficit.

“In light of that, our government chose to invest in public education, and we increased our budget, which went directly to districts.”

Beare tried to extricate the government from its promise, in a way.

“Districts are making decisions at the local level,” said the minister. “Those conversations should happen at the local level.”

The local level? There was no mention in the 2024 BC NDP election platform about Premier David Eby’s grandiose promise being contingent on the voluntary decision-making of B.C.’s 60 school districts.

“Instead of cuts, Eby will get a counsellor for every school, an EA in every K-3 class, and expand childcare to every school district,” was the headline on the announcement.

“Eby will deliver a mental health counsellor for every school, an educational assistant in every K-3 classroom, and expand onsite before-and-after school childcare,” it read.

The education assistant would “support complex needs, and to support before- and after-school care programs,” it added.

Warbus tossed that back in the face of the NDP on Monday.

“This is a government that has consistently overpromised and underdelivered, and this time they’re doing it on the backs of our kids,” she said.

“Will the minister just admit that the NDP never intended to follow through on their campaign promise to have K-to-3 classrooms in British Columbia have an education assistant in every single one of them?

“If you are going to fulfil that promise, can I have the date today?”

No date was forthcoming from Beare.

Currently, 20 per cent of K-3 classes do not have education assistants, she said.

The government’s shortcomings in fulfilling the other election promise, a mental health counsellor for every school, were brought into sharp focus earlier this year in the wake of the Tumbler Ridge school shooting.

The lack of mental health resources is now expected to be part of the upcoming coroner’s inquest.

The government cannot say how many counsellors are in schools, when asked directly. Perhaps that too is a “decision at the local level.”

“We’re increasing them all the time,” Beare said in March. “We’re increasing them with every increase in budget, and we’re increasing them every school year.”

True, the NDP is increasing the school budget annually—roughly two per cent this year, or $200 million. But that barely keeps the system afloat with rising expenses, as education advocates have noted. And it certainly does not appear to be getting the NDP any closer to fulfilling its education election promises.

Rob Shaw has spent more than 18 years covering B.C. politics, now reporting for CHEK News and writing for BIV. He hosts the weekly show Political Capital and has a NEW daily podcast, Political Capital Daily.

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