B.C. government to fund up to 1,100 new teachers with a $50-million instalment
VANCOUVER — British Columbia is providing $50 million for school districts to hire hundreds of new teachers in response to a scathing Supreme Court of Canada decision, but the educators’ union says that’s just a fraction of what’s needed.
The money is a first instalment as part of an agreement with teachers after the province’s decision in 2002 to chop contract provisions allowing teachers to bargain class sizes.
B.C. Teachers’ Federation president Glen Hansman said Thursday that the work “to repair the damage to public education has just begun” and that Premier Christy Clark and her government must now pay to reinstate conditions for teachers and students.
“It’s been almost 15 years to the day since then minister of education Christy Clark first brought in the unconstitutional legislation,” he said. “Teachers and students have waited long enough.”