Kamloops This Week
The Kamloops-Thompson Teachers’ Association has launched an online campaign highlighting what it claims are contract violations with respect to class sizes and the number of special-needs students in classes. The first school featured is Sa-Hali secondary, where the union says it has documented 342 such violations since the Supreme Court of Canada in November 2016 restored contract language from 2002.
From now to March 16, the union representing teachers in the Kamloops region will shine a spotlight on schools, highlighting what it says are infractions that need to be addressed.
The infractions claimed by the union relate to classes over student size limit or in excess of three students with special needs.
Amanda Jensen, president of the Kamloops-Thompson Teachers’ Association (KTTA), said the campaign stems from disagreements the union has with School District 73 on how to implement specific parts of a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that restored contract language from 2002.
The decision in November 2016 overturned a B.C. Court of Appeal ruling that found the province did not violate teachers’ rights to bargain class sizes and the number of special-needs children in each class in their contracts.
Jensen and Shayne Olsen, SD73’s associate superintendent of human resources, agree their discussions have been polite and, for the most part, resulted in agreements.
But Jensen said there remain unresolved issues revolving around class size and composition. Those issues will be outlined daily on the KTTA website (ktta.ca), with each day focusing on a different school. For example, Jensen said, Sa-Halli secondary has experienced 340 violations on class size and composition.
The union has filed three grievances covering the hundreds of violations its alleging.
Olsen said he understands the union’s decision to go public.
“I understand they have a job to do and a role to play and I have a job to do, too,” he said, adding there are no plans to mount a counter-campaign. Administrators will answer questions if they arise from the public.
Olsen said “the world has changed” since 2002, when then-education minister Christy Clark sparked the years-long legal battle between the B.C. Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) and the provincial government when she tore up the contract, replacing it with legislation that took away teachers’ rights to negotiate class sizes and composition.
For example, boards of education in the province now have online classes, something Olsen said wasn’t a consideration in the earlier contract. He said the two sides have different interpretations on what size an online class can be or how many special-needs students can be in each one since they are part of distance learning.
Boards work harder now than in 2002 to integrate special-needs students into classes, Olsen said.
Jensen said once the campaign ends, the KTTA will continue trying to engage the public with suggestions on how to help resolve the situation. Those options would include calling SD73 trustees and administrators or contacting MLAs Todd Stone and Peter Milobar.
As part of the Supreme Court of Canada ruling on the teacher’s lawsuit, the union and provincial government agreed to give districts time to work out their contractual issues. If that fails, the BCTF and B.C. Public School Employers’ Association, representing the government, will try to resolve the disputes.
If that step fails, a arbitrator has been assigned to deal with any disputes in the province.
Jensen and Olsen expect they won’t need to go to arbitration because the issues separating them have also arisen in other districts.
“I don’t think we’re going to be first up,” Olsen said.
BCTF spokesman Richard Overgaard said the campaign is unique to the KTTA: “We love it. It’s our local going out and doing what they do.”
• Since January 2017, School District 73 has hired more than 100 teachers for classrooms as it moved to implement changes that flowed from the Supreme Court of Canada ruling.
It has also hired another 40 people for its teachers-on-call list and, on any given day, could replace at least 100 teacher absences if required.
Olsen said despite the hirings, there is still a need for some specialty teachers in French, math and science, as well as more learning-assistance teachers.
