Newly appointed Education Minister Peter Fassbender says the provincial government will continue pursuing a 10-year agreement with B.C. teachers, noting stability as the ultimate goal. But the provinces teachers continue to oppose the idea.
Fassbender met with reporters June 20, following a meeting with the B.C. Teachers Federation (BCTF), the B.C. School Trustees Association and the B.C. Public School Employers Association. Fassbender was adamant that a 10-year agreement with teachers would bring stability to B.C.s school system and cure the often-volatile relationship between the provincial government and public school instructors.
I think anything is feasible if we lay out the road map and goals, Fassbender said. Im a person who is optimistic. If we can respect each other without name-calling and keep our eye on the goal which is the education of young people we can work together to find a solution.
BCTF president Susan Lambert disagreed that a 10-year agreement will solve any ongoing issues.
The BCTF put out a press release following the morning meeting with Fassbender in which Lambert said: We dont need a new bargaining structure since all the relevant parties, including government, are now at the table. What we really need is for government to come to the table with the resources and political will to reach a negotiated agreement, one that will guarantee support for all students when they need it.
Fassbender said that he had asked the three parties to conclude any unsubstantiated issues so that they can discuss what a new road map is and what the new relationships will look like beginning next week.
Fassbender said that to him, stability means that someone in Grade 2 today would have the reassurance that they can graduate without any restraints.
The term carried a darker connotation for Lambert. Im afraid the rhetoric around stability is simply a euphemism for removing our rights and silencing teachers, Lambert said in the press release. Stability really means locking in deteriorating conditions in classrooms for another
decade.
The BCTF noted that according to Statistics Canada, B.C.s per-student funding is $1,000 below the national average and that B.C. has the lowest teacher to student ratio in the country.
Fassbender refused to comment on the current situation with CUPE or the Francophone School Board and stated that he was not ready to put a deadline on discussions at this point.
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