School District 43 continues to beef up staff to meet provincial class size and composition requirements and support more students than originally anticipated.
With the school year at the halfway point, trustees approved on an amended budget Jan. 30 that quantified the changes since the budget was first passed in April 2017 — showing how growing enrolment and class requirements have put more staff in schools.
For example, enrolment increased by 134 full-time equivalent (FTE) students last September, resulting in $2.2 million spent on extra staffing. An additional 10 educational assistants were hired to support students who have have special needs and another 23 education assistants were hired because of the Supreme Court of Canada decision on class size and composition.
The district has also hired 10 FTE administrative positions and is in the midst of hiring eight youth and support workers with Classroom Enhancement Funds the province gave out because of the Supreme Court ruling that restored B.C. teachers’ collective agreement.
But the toll of trying to fill all the spots is starting to be felt, with the district struggling to find staff to fill in for teachers and education assistants who are sick or away for other reasons.
SD43 hired 12 teachers on call to minimize classroom disruption due to a shortage of substitute teachers but education assistants continue to be in short supply. In fact, on a given day, the district is short 20 fill-in EA positions.
“We have difficulty in attracting education assistants and teachers on call… We’re going to underspend those budgets,” said Chris Nicolls, the district’s chief financial officer and secretary treasurer, noting, “We have not given up on initiatives to attract staff."
The amended budget for 2017/’18 is $373,694,489, with $24.5 million in Classroom Enhancement Funds.
