Rotating School Closures may be next in Provincial Labour Dispute

 As of yet, there has been no notice delivered by School District 52 officials providing any form of an update on the status of labour negotiations in the province.

A situation that appears to put SD52 a bit behind the information delivery curve compared to other parts of the Province.

In recent days, many School Districts in other parts of British Columbia have offered up status updates and in some cases warnings to parents, suggesting that the next step in the ongoing labour dispute between the Province and BCTF may see rotating school closures across the province.

The Vancouver School Board outlined that prospect with this May 9th letter to parents, offering up a bit of advance notice as to where the labour dispute between the two sides may be heading next.

The most recent update to the SD52 website was provided back in April, when the School District advised that they were cancelling recess activities across the District.

On the negotiations front, the early stages of discussions between the BCTF and the Employers negotiators have apparently not provided for much in the way of progress, with the two sides still rather far apart on many of the key issues of concern.

The most recent flash points in the dispute involve the notice from Public Sectors Employers Association that they plan to turn over benefit payment requirements to the BCTF in event of a labour dispute.

BCTF will have to pay its members' benefits if an agreement is not reached in the labour dispute
Billing teachers necessary to prevent lengthy strike
B. C. Government raises stakes by forcing teachers' union to pay benefits during job action

Adding to the pressure of the ongoing labour situation of the last week, were a string of layoff notices issued for a number of School Districts, so far mainly in the Lower Mainland area, with the highest profile thus far the layoffs in Coquitlam.

Hundreds of teachers across B. C. receiving layoff notices
630 teachers laid off in Coquitlam
Education Minister shocked by teacher layoffs in SD43

In the wake of those developments, the BCTF has not yet outlined what its next steps will be in the dispute, nor has it offered up a timeline towards any potential further action.

The topic hasn't really been featured on the front burner of late, so for a little background on the current status of those negotiations and impact on school activities we offer up a few items for review below:

CBC-- B. C. teachers' strike could escalate, parents warned
CTV-- Teachers' union talks rotating strikes as negotiations stall
Vancouver Province-- Let's all do the math on B. C.'s teacher surplus
Globe and Mail-- Delta teachers advised to cancel field trips for rest of school year
Globe and Mail-- Teachers' demands would put B. C.'s credit rating at risk: negotiator
BCCPAC blog-- Re-engineering BC education amid bargaining strife
The Tyee-- Teachers fire back at employers' association
The Tyee-- Everything You Need to Know about BC Teacher Bargaining

For more information on Education, particularly on the North Coast see our Archive page

Port Edward school plans for 2012-13 announced

School District 52 is closing the Port Edward School on August 31st and then, school will reopen in the same location in September, under a lease back provision with the District of Port Edward.

The paperwork and agreement from it will provide for a community school in Port Ed for the 2012-13 school year, leading up to the completion of a new school building in that community, which would seemingly provide for a guarantee of education there until at least August of 2032.

Port Edward has been looking for creative ways to ensure that there was a form of local education in the community at the elementary level, a key aspect of growth for the community and a plan that would not require students to be transported to Prince Rupert schools for the elementary years.

In order for Port Edward to have a school in place for this September, the School District will be using the existing building on the sub lease provision, with Port Edward responsible for any major maintenance requirements that may arise in the interim period.

The plan to close the school and the terms of the sub lease were up for discussion at a School District meeting held on Thursday.

The Northern View provides some background on the recent developments here, a review of the construction project can be found here.