As schools open, more teachers and classroom space are expected because of last year’s Supreme Court ruling and growing student enrolment.
The school district has put up more than 180 postings, but because many of these jobs are part-time, they collectively add up to about 45 to 50 full-time teachers’ worth of hires.
Thirty-two of these full-time equivalents are being hired as a result of the Supreme Court ruling, while the rest are coming in to meet demand from population growth. Initial projections estimate 5,036 students – an increase of 243 up from last year – are expected to arrive in the Sea to Sky School District, which also includes Whistler and Pemberton.
The new incoming teachers are expected to cost at least $3 million.
The province provided about $2.3 million to accommodate hires who have been added as a result of the court ruling, though the school board said it won’t be enough.
However, these numbers are subject to change, as the province distributes funding based on student headcounts, which have yet to be completed as of press time.
For the most part, hiring appears to be going smoothly, with the exception of a handful of positions, said Supt. Lisa McCullough during the latest school board meeting.
The school district is having trouble finding teachers to fill posts for a couple of French immersion positions, one or two trades and a psychologist.
“It’s really coming down to four that we’re struggling to fill, and that is pretty remarkable, given what’s going on in the province,” she said.
The new hires include a mix of what the school board calls enrolling and non-enrolling teachers.
Enrolling teachers are educators who preside over classrooms, teaching subjects such as math, English and science.
The equivalent of at least 12 of these full-time workers is expected to be added this month as a result of the Supreme Court ruling.
Non-enrolling teachers are educators who work as librarians, counsellors, special education resource teachers and so forth.
The equivalent of at least 20 of these full-time workers is expected to be added because of the ruling.
Last year’s Supreme Court ruling found that teachers had been wrongfully stripped of their ability to bargain for class size and composition, which refers to what types of students and teachers – such as special education and English language learners, for example – can be in each class.
As a result, the court made a ruling to revert class sizes and composition back its pre-2002 levels.
Extra classroom spaces will also be needed specifically as a result of the ruling.
Two additional portables are expected at Garibaldi Highlands Elementary. One portable has been added at Squamish Elementary.
The provincial francophone school district, Conseil Scolaire Francophone de la Colombie-Britannique, or CSF, will be borrowing a portable from the school district at Spring Creek Elementary in Whistler. An extra portable is expected for CSF at Signal Hill Elementary. Renovations have been completed for one classroom at Valleycliffe Elementary.
