Burnaby students will be back in class Monday after teachers across the province voted 86 per cent in favour of a new contract Thursday.
“We’re ready for a start,” superintendent Kevin Kaardal told the NOW. “I’m very excited that we’re going to get to open and engage our learners again. We’re looking forward to having an outstanding year.”
Local schools will open to students for a part day Monday, and regular school hours will resume Tuesday.
“While there are still many organizational tasks that require teacher and school counsellor participation, our principals, vice-principals and district staff have worked hard to ensure as smooth an opening as possible,” Kaardal wrote in a letter to parents Thursday. “Given the complexities of timetabling scheduling, we expect that some school reorganization will be happening as we get underway. Be assured that each school will be working together to limit these disruptions.”
The superintendent said schools will work with teachers to postpone professional development days scheduled for next week, and kindergarteners will see a “modified gradual entry” that will have them up to full-time attendance a week earlier than usual.
“It’s still educationally sound to have them come in in the way that we do,” Kaardal said. “We have to make sure we don’t traumatize kids just for expediency’s sake.”
Unlike some neighbouring locals, Burnaby teachers stayed on the picket line till the end Thursday before teachers voted to end the nearly five-month-old labour dispute.
“Different districts are doing different things, but we’re on strike until the strike’s over,” local union president Rae Figursky told the NOWThursday.
Figursky said opinion about the agreement among local teachers was “all over the place” after they went over the points in the agreement at three study sessions Wednesday.
“My prediction is it’ll be a yes; it won’t be high,” Figursky said.
The full text of the agreement, including a back-to-work protocol, wasn’t available to teachers until 1 a.m. Thursday morning and local teachers had between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. to vote.
As part of the back-to-work provisions in the agreement, teachers will be in their classrooms Friday preparing for the first day of school Monday.
“There are still lots of teachers in Burnaby who are moving schools, who weren’t able to finish packing, and therefore the cartage of boxes from the old school to the new school hasn’t happened,” Figursky said.
The local union will be in meetings with the school board and district executives this week and possibly into the weekend, according to Figursky, working out an array of logistics.
“We want everything to work in the best interest of kids and for it to make sense for teachers too,” Figursky said.
But some “struck work” left undone during the walkout – like reports cards – will not be made up.
“They’re gone,” Figursky said.
The agreement put to teachers Thursday includes a 7.25 per cent wage hike over six years, a boost to health and dental benefits, increased rates for teachers on call and more prep time for elementary teachers.
The deal also includes a $400-million education fund that will go toward improving classroom conditions, including hiring as many as 850 new teachers a year.
