A Vancouver School Board committee recommends the board seek public feedback on several alternatives to the school calendar.
The district cut 10 days from the school year to offset budget shortfalls for the past two years. A few minutes were added to each day to compensate for the time off.
Informal reaction to the current school calendar has been positive among employee groups but less positive from parents, according to a report to the management coordinating committee Feb. 27 . (Teachers are not participating in committee meetings due to the job action so formal input from them hasnt been collected).
The committees recommendation must be approved by the board, but if its adopted the public will be consulted on five options before a decision is made April 2. Options include grouping district closure days and establishing common professional days.
The first option would keep the 10 extra district days off for a savings of $1 million, with days off scheduled in November, February, March and May.
Option two envisions seven days off, scheduled in November, February, March and May, to save $700,000, while option three proposes five days off, scheduled in November and March, for $500,000 in savings. Option four calls for four days off in March to save $400,000. The final option eliminates the extra days off.
The committee suggests putting up to $25,000 of the savings garnered from the extra days off into a community support fund to help community school teams offer activities on district days off and professional days.
While teachers havent provided input on calendar options, Chris Harris, president of the Vancouver Elementary School Teachers Association, told the Courier that it supports keeping the 10 days off if the district faces a shortfall.
Last year, VESTA did not oppose the 10 closure days on the basis that we continue to be in a deficit position, because of underfunding by the provincial government, and are continuing to lay off teachers, Harris said.
Debbie Pawluk, president of the Vancouver Secondary Teachers Association, said it hasnt changed its position either. In an email to the Courier, she noted the groups decision to support the days off last year.
Needless to say, the decision was directly related to the districts projected budget deficit and layoff concerns, two issues that continue to plague the district as it grapples with the ongoing challenges created by provincial underfunding.
Twitter: @Naoibh
