The Burnaby board of education has joined the chorus of voices calling on the B.C. Teachers’ Federation and B.C. Public School Employers’ Association to bring in a mediator to help end their labour dispute.
In a letter to Education Minister Peter Fassbender Friday, the board said “decisive leadership” is needed because the ongoing dispute, which shut down schools nine days early this summer, is putting the very foundation of democracy at risk.
“We, the board of education feel that the current disruption is putting the reputation of public education in jeopardy,” reads the letter. “The loss of faith in and commitment to the public education system may cause irreparable harm to the foundation of our free democratic society.”
The letter states morale among teachers and support staff is low, administrators are overworked and student and parents are concerned about their educational future.
Teachers started pushing for a mediator Thursday, calling on Premier Christy Clark to appoint veteran mediator Vince Ready.
The province approved the choice, but on Sunday it was reported Ready was unavailable.
Burnaby school board chair Baljinder Narang wants the two sides to keep looking.
“There are lots of other good mediators there that can make that difference,” she told the NOW Tuesday.
Meanwhile, about 7,500 Burnaby students registered for summer school still don’t know whether they’ll be attending classes next month.
The B.C. Public School Employers’ Association has said it would lift its partial lockout over the summer to allow classes to go ahead, but the teachers’ union has yet to announce its position on the summer programs.
Last week Narang said the district could delay the start of high school classes – scheduled to start July 2 – by a week, but the clock is ticking.
“The window is closing in, as you can appreciate,” she said. “My concern is increasing as that happens.”
