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More teachers for SD43

Increase from higher enrollment and Supreme Court funding but union says numbers still down from 2012
Teachers
School District 43 has been able to hire 95 teachers, plus 24 FTE educational assistants; as well, seven new posts were created for professionals such as learning specialists, school psychologists and speech and language pathologists

School District 43 has been on a hiring spree as a result of the Supreme Court of Canada ruling restoring contract language and because more students arrived in schools in September than were expected.

In all, 95 new teaching jobs have been created, plus 24 FTE educational assistants; as well, seven new posts were created for professionals such as learning specialists, school psychologists and speech and language pathologists.

"We are getting as many teachers into our classrooms as soon as possible," superintendent Patricia Gartland told trustees at Tuesday's board of education meeting.

But numbers provided by the Coquitlam Teachers' Association suggest the district staffing compliment is well down from 2012, when budget cuts were made to eliminate a deficit.

Despite the recent influx of new blood, there are fewer teachers in SD43 schools than there were in 2012, CTA president Ken Christensen stated in an email.

In 2012, there were 1,854 FTE teachers but by 2015, that number had dropped to 1,718 — a loss of about 136 jobs — according to the CTA.

And while the Supreme Court decision is a "favourable outcome" for teachers, the district is still down about 80 FTE positions since 2012, Christensen said.

"Those budget cuts from 2012-’14 had a very strong impact upon working and learning conditions. Even with the recent hires due to government putting $50 million back into the system to deal with immediate staffing, we are still well down from what we are owed now contractually and what we lost due to budget cuts."

Some of the new hires are the result of 113 more students than expected being enrolled. Gartland said the district has also been able to hire 30 permanent substitute teachers to fill in for teachers who were hired for full-time contracts and she said she expects the funds from the court decision to continue having an impact into the next school year.

"It's been a boon to our district," Gartland said.

But at the unveiling of a $33.5-million seismic replacement for Minnekhada middle school, Education Minister Mike Bernier couldn't provide a timeline for full implementation of the Supreme Court decision, saying only that negotiations with the BCTF are ongoing and "we're committed to funding whatever comes out of those discussions."

The BC Teachers' Federation is calling for at least $300 million in new funding to restore collective agreement language that the court restored and is hoping for a funding commitment in the Feb. 21 provincial budget.