It’s time to get schools up and running.
That was the clear message at a rally at the legislature Tuesday, where hundreds of students gathered to voice their concerns about the ongoing teachers’ strike. The event was organized by Erinne Paisley, a Grade 12 student from Reynolds Secondary.
The 17-year-old and others called on the Labour Relations Board to declare education an essential service so students can return to school as soon as possible. School was scheduled to start Sept. 2, but members of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation have been on a full-scale strike since June 17.
“I think that the lessons being taught through the dispute are negative ones,” Paisley said. “It’s not being handled in a time-efficient manner, obviously.
“This dispute has turned into a war and it’s killing our education.”
STRIKE NOTES: Updates for those affected by B.C.’s dispute with teachers
Students have every reason to speak out, Paisley said. “This is literally our future.”
Liam Clark, who is supposed to be starting Grade 9 at Victoria High School, said the public officials representing students aren’t getting the job done.
“It’s an embarrassment to our province. It’s a giant impasse. It’s uncertainty and it shouldn’t be happening in Canada.”
David Underhill, a Grade 11 student at Reynolds, said students are being held hostage by the dispute.
“In the midst of arguing with each other, it’s painfully clear that both the government and the BCTF have forgotten about the students in this dispute,” he said. “We still need an education regardless of any dispute that is going on.
“We are at the mercy of their debate. And so while the debate is frozen, so are we.”
On Tuesday, the Greater Victoria board of education issued a letter calling on Education Minister Peter Fassbender, the B.C. Public School Employers’ Association, which negotiates on behalf of the provincial government, and the BCTF to agree to binding arbitration, as proposed by the teachers’ union.
“It is our board’s view that you each need to do whatever it takes to resolve this dispute and to get students back into our schools,” the letter said.
The BCTF has scheduled a vote today to determine if teachers support a move to end the strike if the province agrees to binding arbitration.
As well, the letter called for all costs associated with an arbitrated settlement to be borne by the government and not downloaded to boards of education.
The board also issued an open letter to the community, in which chairwoman Peg Orcherton said the board has repeatedly urged the provincial government to improve funding for public education, as well as to bargain in good faith with teachers, with a focus on achieving stability for students.
“We have a long history and a great deal to be proud of in the provision of public education in Greater Victoria,” the letter said. “We believe that there is a common purpose that is shared by all parties — the recognition of the value of public education for our youth in British Columbia.
“We remain optimistic that we will be welcoming students back to school very soon.”
