Christy Clark says she’s for families. Now Surrey parents and students want her to prove it.

The challenge for British Columbia’s premier-in-waiting came from Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary Grade 12 student Michelle Hemelspeck, as well as more than 100 people Sunday at Holland Park concerned over the fate of funding for the Surrey school district.

“If you have money to build a new casino and a new roof for B.C. Place why don’t you have money for school?” asked Hemelspeck.

Since 2005, the City of Surrey has been without capital funding for new schools despite a ballooning population that grows at a rate of 800 new residents per month. New money to build schools is doled out when a student population is sufficient to fill a building.

Advocates at the rally demanded eight new schools, to be built immediately, which city officials estimate would cost $200 million.

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts said she’s already been in talks with Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid and Clark.

“I’ve had numerous conversations with the minister and she’s assured me there’s something coming forward in the spring that Surrey will be prominent on that agenda,” she said. “I’m encouraged.”

Hemelspeck, however, remained skeptical.

“You’re going to get a better education in a class of 20 than a class of 35,” she said. “Which one would you rather have?”

Dharm Makwana reports for Vancouver 24 Hours.