Contract pace dismays teachers

Greater Victoria school district teachers are growing frustrated with the pace at which courtordered changes are being implemented, says the local union president.

Last fall, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a law imposed by the province that blocked teachers’ ability to bargain class size was unconstitutional. The decision restored B.C. class-size and composition numbers to 2002 levels.

That is leading to smaller classes and the need for more classrooms. Eighty-four additional classrooms are expected in the Greater Victoria school district alone this September.

Part of the issue is that the provincial government has been in a state of flux since the May 9 election, said Jason Gammon, president of the Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association, creating uncertainty over how much will be done by September.

District superintendent Piet Langstraat said the process continues to move ahead.

“We continue to work with the [Ministry of Education] on finalizing our funding request,” he said. “That has not slowed down as a result of the election, the potential change in government.”

Langstraat said he talked with the other superintendents on Vancouver Island “and we’re all awaiting confirmation of our request to the ministry.”

“But the work is continuing, so some of the implementation, of course, is awaiting funding.”

Teachers are currently being hired, Langstraat said. About 150 new teachers are needed for September, he said.

Schools are also dealing with a rise in enrolment — the number of students is expected to increase to 21,000 from 19,000 in the next decade — leading to a growing need for space in buildings around the district.

Having the space needed to do what the contract dictates is one of the biggest concerns, Gammon said. Teachers do not think the plan to add as many as 12 portable classrooms is the answer, he said.

“Portables are a temporary and costly stop-gap measure to address the growing student population here in Victoria.”

Gammon said some of the closed elementary schools in the district could be reopened, but a report on the issue isn’t due until November.

“For our association, if you look at schools like Richmond, Lampson, Uplands, those schools are in good shape,” he said.

All have stayed in use since they were shut, Gammon said. They are among seven district elementary schools that were closed between 2003 and 2007, during a period of declining enrolment.

The overall cost of adhering to the 2002 contract in B.C.’s 60 school districts has been estimated at $360 million.