Meeting forthcoming on teachers' job action and what that looks like in local schools
By Timothy Schafer
The inside track on what the current teachers’ action means locally will be available for parents of children in School District No. 8 (Kootenay Lake) this week.
The first District Parents Advisory Council meeting will be at the Nelson School Board office on Thursday, Sept. 22 at 6 p.m.
The evening will feature a presentation from the Kootenay Lake Teachers Federation, as well as the SD8 superintendent of schools, Jeff Jones, to talk about job action and what that looks like in the local schools.
The meeting is open to the public, said BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils treasurer (as well as the SD8 DPAC), Susan Wilson.
There was some question if the senior students would receive report cards in time to apply for scholarships, said Wilson, a concern the BC Teachers Federation has quelled by saying they would provide report cards to students so they can apply for college and university entry.
The meeting will help people leading up to Oct. 10, the next important date in the current job action. The provincial BC Teachers Federation has gone back to the courts to ask for clarification on their job action rights.
Province pulls BCCPAC funding
Notice has been received from the BC Ministry of Education that the BC Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils (BCCPAC) can expect no funding for the 2011/12 year.
BCCPAC will not be holding a fall conference this year, but will begin co-hosting regional conferences.
This has no effect whatsoever on the local PACs, said Wilson. Operating funds for local PACs come from Gaming Funds from the Province, called Direct Access Grants. Their funding formula is $20 per student.
The money is distributed for extra curricular events within BC (not for text books or classroom supplies).
Although the ministry recognized the “important work being done by BCCPAC” to support district parent advisory councils and parent advisory councils by “building knowledge skills and capacity,” they weren’t able to match the $250,000 they gave in the 2010/11 fiscal year.
“We are unable to meet your request to provide those same grants this fiscal year and will need to provide support in a non-fiscal manner,” said Education Minister George Abbott in a Sept. 7 letter to Ann Whiteaker, president of the BCCPAC.
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