While appreciative of PRDTU concerns on COVID safety; SD52 to continue to seek advice of Ministry of Education and Provincial Health officials

School District 52 has provided for a response to some recent public awareness moves by the Prince Rupert and District Teachers' Union, issuing a statement today that provides a bit of background as to how the School District is approaching COVID related issues and safety themes in North Coast schools.

The response comes following a PRDTU led car rally on Thursday, that relayed the teachers union membership's call for strong Safety measures in the school and for more local leadership on safety concerns.

In today's statement from James Horne, Chair of the Board of Education and Andrew Samoil, Superintendent of Schools, the two top school officials note that the district seeks out and adheres to expert advice coordinated by the Ministry of Education, Public Health and WorkSafeBC.

"The district acts and complies with the advice and orders of these authorities. We encourage all families and employees to review the most recent safety plan for their schools, which are available on the district’s website. 

The district understands that the British Columbia Teachers’ Federation has had the opportunity to meet directly with public health officials. We believe the BCTF has proposed measures similar to those expressed in the PRDTU motions. The district will only implement changes which are approved by Public Health."

The statement further notes as to how these challenging times have been trying for everyone and continues to stress the District's belief that the schools are safe for staff and students.

You can examine the full response from SD52 here.

Prior to Thursday's car rally, the PRDTU had issued a letter expressing their disappointment that their concerns raised at Tuesday's School District Board meeting had not been acted on.

For a look at some of the themes of discussion in recent months on COVID related concern for the school system see our archive page here.