Graduation ceremonies will likely be only minimally affected, but other extracurricular activities that receive volunteer support from teachers might be curtailed as a result of the most recent salvo in the ongoing dispute between teachers and the provincial government.
On Monday (April 23), thousands of teachers across B.C. began withdrawing voluntary services after 73 per cent of B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF) members voted last week to do so in response to the provincial government's enactment of Bill 22, legislating an end to the contract dispute that had dragged on since last September.
Beth Miller, president of the Sea to Sky Teachers' Association (SSTA), on Monday said teachers didn't want to take further action but felt they had no other way to show their displeasure with the government's actions.
"Our feeling is that the government has forced us into a corner and that this is the only protest left to us, to withdraw our voluntary services," Miller said. "We hope that it doesn't alienate parents and students and that they will see the long view and see that this is a step we take with hesitation.
"One of the fortunate side-effects of this sort of action is that it could cause people to recognize that there are so many activities that teachers support voluntarily and that maybe we should go a little further to support them as part of the regular curriculum."
One of the provisions of Bill 22, passed in mid-March, is the government's appointment of a mediator to work out a new contract with teachers. That portion of the bill stalled after the BCTF rejected the Ministry of Education's appointed mediator, Dr. Charles Jago.
Cathy Jewett, past chair of the Sea to Sky District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC), expressed frustration over what appears to be a never-ending cycle of brinksmanship that will only hurt students and the education system in the long run.
"I think the most important thing is that parents need to tell the government that Bill 22 is not fixing anything," Jewett said. "We're stuck in limbo because there's no negotiation going on and chances are that come next fall we're going to be right back where we started in September, and that is a pity.
"What would have been better is that earlier the two sides had been able to agree on a mediator -for instance, Vince Ready," Jewett said, referring to the mediator who helped clear a similar logjam in 2005.
Sea to Sky School District officials could not be reached for comment about the dispute's impact on school-based extracurricular offerings. Jewett, though, said that even if no resolution is reached in the next few weeks, she's confident that graduation ceremonies at Pemberton, Whistler and Howe Sound secondary schools will go ahead with or without teacher support.
Most grad organizing committees these days are headed up by parents and those roles that are filled by teachers can be filled by parents if the need arises, Miller said.
Jewett, though, said spring sports will undoubtedly be affected, as will field trips, music and other activities.
"The thing about extracurricular activities that a lot of people don't understand - for most people it's a like, "big deal, no sports" - but I've spoken to students who lost opportunities for a scholarship because of past job actions," Jewett said.
Miller said that in addition to a general frustration with the draconian nature of Bill 22, local teachers are most upset with the recent edict from Education Minister George Abbott mandating that teachers must prepare report cards retroactively for the school term that ended two months ago. Those reports must be completed by the end of this week and are to be handed out on May 7.
"It's a huge workload issue for elementary teachers to have to turn around and prepare report cards within a week," she said. "If the Ministry knew what it was like to be a classroom teacher, they would never take such a step. It's just mind-boggling that the ministry would think this is realistic."
"I don't blame the district for this -their hands are tied. The local board, we've worked with them to develop a process that hopefully will be a little less onerous than it might otherwise be."
Miller admitted the 73 per cent vote in favour of withdrawing voluntary services, combined with the fact that about a quarter of BCTF members didn't vote, shows that there's division among teachers on this latest step. But she expressed confidence that most local teachers will comply.
"It is a contentious issue but 73 per cent is still a strong majority and I'm sure our members will support this particular action," she said.
