A BC Supreme Court decision to restore teachers’ collective bargaining rights, stripped away more than a decade ago, will be appealed by the ministry of education.
Peter Fassbender, education minster, announced last week that the government would challenge the court’s decision to allow teachers the right to negotiate class size and composition.
Madam Justice F. Griffin decided the case on January 27 and her ruling directed the government to pay $2 million in compensation to British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF).
Fassbender’s announcement that the ruling “centred on the union’s interests and not the students’ needs,” raised the ire of teachers in Powell River and around the province.
“We are extremely disappointed that this government, which has twice been found to have acted both illegally and unconstitutionally, has decided to spend more taxpayers’ money on appealing a very clear judicial decision,” said Cathy Fisher, president of Powell River and District Teachers’ Association. “This is money that should be going into the classrooms of this province to support our students.”
Fassbender said it was the government’s responsibility to balance the interests of the teachers with the needs of the students, their families and the 4.6 million British Columbians who already invest $5 billion into kindergarten through grade 12 eduction every year.
“That is what our government has always done, and will continue to do so, and that’s why we will appeal Justice Griffin’s decision,” he said.
The minister called the judgement “unaffordable for taxpayers” and said it would cause “huge disruptions in our schools and, most importantly, it will prevent districts from providing the right mix of supports that our students actually need.”
Fisher said that changes to classrooms in Powell River over the past decade have been palpable with an increase of almost 10 per cent in the numbers of high need students and a decrease of more than 50 per cent in numbers of special education teachers and counsellors.
“Although we have declining enrolment, the numbers of special education teachers, counsellors and teacher librarians has dropped at a significantly higher rate than has our enrolment,” added Fisher. “Despite government claims to the contrary, Stats [Canada] data shows that the schools in BC receive $1,000 per student less than the Canadian average. This is the second lowest level of funding in Canada.”
Fisher estimates that there are 130 classes in Powell River schools with more than two special needs students. Had the class composition provisions in the teachers’ contracts not been changed, there would have been additional teacher support for those students, she said.
Fassbender dismissed the class composition issue saying that it is “carefully managed each year” and it requires “informed professional judgement and discretion instead of rigid formulas and ratios.”
Class size and composition are on the bargaining table, said Fassbender who added the government is still working toward a 10-year agreement with the BCTF.
“BC’s students are doing well because they have great teachers,” said Fassbender. “Imagine how much better they could be doing if we were to achieve true collaboration at the bargaining table.”
