By Tiffany Goodwein

Teacher pushes school board to address teacher shortage

Nov 22, 2019 | 5:15 AM

A local teacher is urging School District 22 to address teacher recruitment and retention.

During Wednesday’s Board of Education meeting, former Vernon Teachers Association president Lisa LaBoucane revealed to the board that students requiring specialist teachers are being impacted because of vacancies.

“Vernon currently has three specialist positions not filled, leaving students without the support that they have the right to receive,” she said.

“Approximately 10 times this year, the district has run out of TOC’s (teachers on call) which requires specialist teachers to be reassigned to classrooms, instead of providing services to students,” LaBoucane said.

The TOC shortage has meant teachers have had to think twice before calling in sick, or take a professional development day, according to LaBoucane.

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With teachers in the province currently working with the second lowest salary in B.C., she argued salaries need to be kept up to par with the cost of living to encourage more teachers to work in B.C.

But the District 22 Board of Education argued a large portion of teacher recruitment and retention issues go beyond the board level.

“That is a question we should be throwing towards our MLA because they are the ones who are directly responsible to the province for us to do that. Yes, I recognize that we are lower than a lot of provinces but that is a provincial issue,” Board Chair Robert Lee said.

He added there are many provincial factors at play impacting teacher recruitment, including the cost of living.

“An eight hundred [thousand dollar], nine hundred, or one million dollar house, that’s going to be hard for any teacher, so that’s a challenge,” he said.

The district stressed they are trying to fill the three vacancies but are struggling to find qualified applicants.

“We cannot hire somebody who is not qualified to do that. It’s not a case of we don’t want to, it’s just that I don’t think we want to put somebody who is not qualified to do the job, into the position,” Lee added.

by Tiffany Goodwein

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