Prince Rupert teachers outline their concerns on topic of Library cuts

City council has been hearing a fair bit of feedback towards its plan to cut back funding to the Prince Rupert Library, while redistributing the gains from the claw back of Library funding towards the Lester Centre and Museum of Northern British Columbia.

One month ago, a number of residents spoke out against the plan as part of the Committee of the Whole Session for January, a scenario which could once again be found with another public comment period available at tonight's Council session.

Council members are also now aware as to how the city's teachers are feeling about the funding cut, with the Prince Rupert District Teachers Union having submitted a letter of concern to City Council within the last week.

The letter to Council dated February 12th, highlights the contribution that the Library makes to the community, particularly in the way that it offers services and access to those at the lowest end of the economic scale in the city.

The President of the union. Kathy Murphy notes how the Library is an essential part of having an educated and literate population, with the PRDTU correspondence calling for the cuts to be reversed to allow for the library to at least provide the level of service that it presently does.

Earlier this month, Mayor Lee Brain observed that as Council goes through the upcoming Budget process, Council members are hopeful that they will find the required funding to keep the Library at its current Grant amount.

You can review the Teachers' Union correspondence below:

The Prince Rupert Teachers' Union has outlined
their concerns over funding cuts to the Prince Rupert Library
(click on image above to enlarge)

Council will be starting its full budget review in the weeks to come, with a Public Engagement Session planned for the Lester Centre on March 14th at 7 PM.

More items related to City Council Discussions can be found on our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review