The Sea to Sky School district is preparing for the worst and hoping for the best as teachers hit the picket line.
The B.C. union representing striking teachers plans to spend the final week before the scheduled start of classes increasing pressure on the provincial government. Its members have resurrected picket lines, while the union has been airing radio ads and staging rallies. And while it remains unclear whether students will return to their classrooms next Tuesday, principals and other support staff are preparing for a last-minute deal, Sea to Sky School District superintendent Lisa McCullough said.
“It is certainly not business as usual,” she said. “But we are doing all the organizational things, such as getting the schools all ready.”
Senior levels of staff have been on task for weeks. Principals and vice-principals have worked out timetables. The district has also initiated a transition program for students entering secondary school. With the help of administration and student leaders, the program will include a whole day of orientation for students getting to know their new school, McCullough said.
The school district is also preparing a suggested list of literary and mathematic resources to aid parents with teaching foundational subjects.
Staff has fingers crossed that schools will open as scheduled, but McCullough said her guess is as good as anyone’s.
“We have little information on how things are going,” she said. “[Parents] know as much as we do.”
Teachers have been on a full-scale strike since June, though the summer has been mostly devoid of formal negotiations and the two sides have acknowledged they remain far apart.
B.C. Teachers’ Federation president Jim Iker used an annual teacher training conference in Kamloops last weekend to call on the provincial government to enter into mediation immediately. He told media that teachers would be out in “full force” this week to pressure the Liberal government.
Some picket lines were up in Squamish as of Monday, Aug. 25. The intent is to have a presence in front of all Squamish’s public schools, said Beth Miller, the Sea to Sky Teachers’ Association bargaining chair.
According to the BC Teachers’ Federation website teachers are calling for wage increases, and improved learning conditions for students like class size, class composition, and staffing levels for specialist teachers.
“The current plan is that if we don’t
have a deal by Sept. 2 we’ll continue to picket through the first week of school,” Miller said.
A meeting has been scheduled for Friday, Sept. 5, so teachers can learn about the status of the bargaining and determine the BCTF’s next steps, she noted. The teachers’ association is hopeful that parents understand their position and that they want the best for students, Miller said.
“This fight’s been going on for 12 years,” she said. “We want a mediated settlement.”
Earlier this month, veteran mediator Vince Ready agreed to monitor the dispute between the union and the B.C. Public Schools Employers’ Association, which bargains on behalf of the provincial government. Ready said
he would be prepared to enter into
full mediation if doing so would
be productive.
The sides met face-to-face in Victoria on Wednesday, Aug. 27.
– with files from Times Colonist, John French
