Support services for students with autism in schools across B.C. could be at risk after some staff say they were cut from a key provincial program.
The Delta School District hosts the Provincial Outreach Program for Autism and Related Disorders (POPARD).
The program provides consultation, training and support services to schools across B.C., many in rural communities, in supporting students with autism spectrum disorder.
“I was very shocked and it was unexpected, considering the numbers we’ve had and the impact in the community,” Jessica Deacon, an education consultant who was laid off, told Global News.
Deacon said she and six of her colleagues were laid off.
“When I was at POPARD it was a place I felt I was making meaningful change,” Deacon said. “For these individuals, for students, for families, for school teams, I could see that change.”
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The seven layoffs amount to a 30-per cent reduction in consultants working with students.
The Delta School District sent a letter to the consultants saying they were being laid off because of budget cuts by the Ministry of Education.
“I never thought this would have happened,” Britanny Del Nin, who was also laid off, told Global News.
“Especially with vulnerable communities you think you’d want to allocate those resources and funding to those individuals.”
However, the education minister said that POPARD’s funding was only a couple of thousand dollars less than the year before and that any budgetary or staffing decisions are up to the host district.
The Delta School District said no one was available to comment.
“The biggest thing we want moving forward is transparency,” Deacon said. “Transparency of why this occurred, and how this is going to impact these communities.”