The Mission school district is in the process of hiring the equivalent of 12 full-time teaching positions for the remainder of the current school year, thanks to just over half a million dollars in new funding from the province.
The cash is Mission’s share of a $50 million deal between the provincial government and the B.C. Teachers’ Federation, resulting from the province’s loss to the union in Supreme Court in November. The legal battle had been hard fought between the two parties since 2002, when then-education minister Christy Clark removed class size and special needs staffing ratios from the union.
Mission school district superintendent Angus Wilson said he met with the Mission Teachers’ Union last week and “came up with a plan on how to equitably divide up the money based on the needs of the schools.”
“We surveyed all of our staffs of our schools, asking ‘What are you looking for?’ ”
It was determined that 12 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions needed to be added and divided among the schools. That includes 10 teaching positions and two counsellors – one for elementary and one for secondary.
“All the schools are getting some extra teacher time,” said Wilson.
The amount of new teaching time varies depending on several factors, including the number of students at the school.
Wilson explained that Mission Secondary has received the equivalent of two new teachers while each middle school has one added FTE position.
He said no school got less than .2 FTE (which means a part-time position) and a large number received the equivalent of an extra half teaching position.
The challenge now is finding qualified people to take on the new positions.
“The postings are out… We’re a bit ahead. There are some districts that have done a bit of hiring but most haven’t done it yet,” said Wilson.
With so many jobs about to become available, it may be difficult to find high-quality applicants, he said.
Wilson noted that the Vancouver school district has yet to post any of its positions.
“Their delay is our opportunity,” he said.