School District 43 is pressing on with hiring 181 additional teachers and getting rooms ready for the restoration of class sizes to 2002 levels despite the current stalemate in Victoria.
Superintendent Patricia Gartland said work is proceeding to get classes up and running for September based on her understanding that an agreement between the government and the BC Teachers' Federation will be fully funded.
"We're trusting that is the case. We are negotiating in good faith with the teachers," Gartland said, noting that restoring class sizes as required by the agreement is "in the best interest of students."
Concerns have been raised because of the possibility some financial decisions will be in limbo until a new government is in place.
SD43 is facing some pushback over its request for funds to renovate classrooms to meet restored language requirements, with the Ministry of Education only agreeing to fund 22 classrooms at 75% instead of fully funding 38 conversions, as requested.
Secretary treasurer Chris Nicolls told trustees at a board of education meeting Tuesday that only $548,625 of the $1.2 million that was requested has been approved. The hold-up seems to be lack of understanding of local language, Nicolls said, so additional efforts are being made to explain the differences to ministry officials.
"We need them for September," Nicolls said of the classrooms that were identified in a review earlier this spring,
One option is for the district to use a fund called "restricted capital" to get the renovations done but Nicolls said that would put the district in a difficult situation for next year.
PRESS THE CASE
According to Gartland, the district has to continue to press its case to get the funds because ministry officials "wonder why we need so many classrooms. We have to provide this information school by school," she said.
As far as spending delays on classroom enhancement funding due to the lack of certainty on which party will form government, Gartland said she hadn't heard of any.
Coquitlam Teachers' Association president Ken Christensen said he is hopeful that necessary funds will come through to make the classroom adjustments this fall.
"There is a natural uncertainty when a potential transition of government is in play. Is this affecting discussions between the parties at the table? It’s hard to say. Discussions do continue and we are hopeful the discussions will remain fruitful, resulting in the relief teachers and students need," Christensen said in an email.
On Wednesday, government house Leader Mike de Jong announced that the legislature would be recalled on Thursday, June 22.
