VICTORIA— John Horgan, leader of the New Democrats, issued the following statement in response to the Christy Clark government’s education announcement on Tuesday:

“This is not about Christy Clark doing what’s right for parents and kids, this is all about Christy Clark trying to make bad headlines go away until after the election.

“This is the least that Christy Clark could do. The least. This is not new funding and I think that parents and students will see through this cynical election ploy.

“There are no cheques going to local school boards. All that the B.C. Liberals are saying is that they won’t be clawing back the $25 million that they were originally demanding from schools across B.C.

“Barely a month ago, Christy Clark’s education minister was dismissing the concerns of thousands of parents across B.C. as ‘just a few vocal groups’ and standing in the legislature defending his government’s cuts to public education.

“I’m so disappointed that this is what it takes to get Christy Clark to listen – that parents and kids have to mount public campaigns and embarrass the B.C. Liberals to be heard.

“This funding flip-flop shows that Christy Clark’s claim that she has no control over local decisions about school closures and education cutbacks is false.

“Christy Clark has neglected and underfunded public education in B.C. for far too long, and parents and kids deserve better. What could be more important than public education?”