No paper in Surrey classrooms? Parents sound alarm over supply shortages

Parents in Surrey are sounding the alarm about budget cuts affecting kids in the classroom, with at least two schools experiencing paper shortages.

At least two elementary schools in Surrey are experiencing paper shortages, according to parents who are sounding the alarm over the scarcity of a basic classroom supply.

Children at Northridge Elementary are unable to complete some of their homework, because their school is running out of paper, according to a parent who wrote a letter to the district.

In it, the father outlines his frustrations, saying his kids are “copying questions from a projector” and “using scrap paper to write tests” and that teachers are attributing the paper shortage to budget constraints.

The concern is also being felt at Ellendale Elementary where Alison Speed sends her children.

“They have been instructed one worksheet for five students to minimize how much paper they’re using and to not use worksheets if they can help it,” says Speed.

Speed took matters into her own hands, organizing a bottle drive to raise money for the classroom necessity.

“We don’t have a lot of extra money. It’s the same handful of parents that are contributing, because we don’t want our kids to miss out on anything,” she says.

‘Symptom of a system wide problem’

Surrey Schools declined to comment but a spokesperson said the issue is not district-wide, and that administrators at each school are responsible for managing their budgets.

Lizanne Foster, president of the Surrey Teachers’ Association says she suspects the issue is more widespread.

“We would be completely shocked if it was happening only in one or two schools. When one teacher calls in to us about the situation happening in their school, we can absolutely guarantee that the same situation is happening in other schools as well,” she says.

Foster says it’s another symptom of underfunding in the province’s largest school district.

“Chronic underfunding has real consequences that directly impact learning and teaching. This issue with paper is a symptom of a system wide problem of chronic underfunding,” she says.

It comes as the district is facing an anticipated $16 million dollar budget shortfall for the 2025-26 school year.

According to the Ministry of Education and Child Care, the average amount of operating funding per student province-wide is more than $13,000 per student, resulting in a total of more than $8 billion – including special grants – in provincial education spending in the 2024-25 school year.

That’s an increase of $2.8 billion – or roughly 54 per cent – since the B.C. NDP formed government at the end of the 2016-17 school year, according to ministry data.

“Surrey is a big district, so it requires a big budget,” says Foster. “What we get from the government is far below what is needed in this district.”

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ian Holliday.