It’s a lesson in how a single decision in the right direction does not easily undo years of work in the wrong direction.
It’s too soon to know how the school year will shake down with the sudden changes to schooling this fall. Classes are smaller, as required under last November’s Supreme Court ruling that teachers can negotiate their working conditions.
Although the ruling is good news for B.C. students and teachers, the sudden shift created other issues.
After more than a decade of reduced staffing and resources, financial pressures eased in the spring to meet the class-size target. The B.C. Liberal government committed $330 million in March toward funding new teacher positions required by the smaller class sizes. After taking office in July, the NDP government added another $46 million to the settlement.
School districts spent the spring and summer hiring 3,500 new teachers. Some districts face added challenges. Under the provincewide teacher contracts, teachers working in communities with rocketing real-estate prices and a high cost of living — the Lower Mainland and Victoria, in particular — receive the same pay as their counterparts working in less-expensive Interior communities.
Unless a teacher is committed to the lifestyle of the costlier communities — and has a partner to share living expenses — positions in the smaller, more affordable communities are more attractive.
School districts are also scrambling to add enough classroom space to accommodate the smaller class sizes. Unused space that schools had rented out in past years to other organizations is being returned to its original classroom purpose.
Construction crews are also still working to finish building new classrooms. For example, three schools in the Greater Victoria area will have to wait longer for their new portables. Out-building classrooms at École Willows Elementary, École Quadra School and École Central Middle School are prototypes being built by district staff and likely won’t be ready for several weeks, and one needed a variance permit before construction could proceed.
But even portables are considered a temporary measure to deal with growing student populations at schools. One of the NDP’s election promises was to provide alternatives to portables. In a move to make this happen, Ministry of Education staff members are meeting officials at the 10 fastest-growing regions to determine how to speed school construction and reduce the need for portables.
The Sooke school district is among those 10. With the fastest-growing student population per capita in the province, the district is responsible for more than 10,000 students in the area encompassing Sooke, Colwood, Langford, the Highlands, Metchosin and Port Renfrew.
The increase in classroom-space needs has also created a shortage of space for before- and after-school programs in many areas. Until this year, many schools had rented out extra, unused classroom space to organizations that provided these programs. Already in short supply, program spaces are now at a premium, with long wait lists, leaving many families with few options.
In total, 174 child-care spaces will be lost across the province in September due to this, according to the Ministry of Education. The four districts reporting the greatest space pressures are Vancouver, Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows, Coquitlam and Greater Victoria.
The waitlist for busing is also an issue in some districts. On the south Island, Sooke — again — is hard hit. More than 3,600 West Shore students registered for the school bus this year. More than 300 students are on the waitlist.
Again, Sooke’s growing student population adds to the pressure. But the region’s spread-out, rural nature also contributes, because few students live within walking or cycling distance of school. In addition, when the district stopped charging families for the service a couple of years ago, demand quickly exceeded supply.
The change isn’t tied to the Supreme Court decision, but it is one more hassle added to the 2017/18 school year’s pile of issues.
As starts to the school year go, this one has more moving pieces than we’ve seen for many years.
Students, teachers, staff and parents will be happy when the dust settles.
