Conference organizer wants attendance decision reversed but school district says it can't spare teachers due to job action

September 27, 2011
By Marisa Babic

SURREY - Moh Chelali, a candidate for school trustee with the Surrey Civic Coalition, is urging the Surrey school district to reverse its decision forbidding French immersion teachers from attending a national conference in Victoria.

Chelali, who is also one of the conference organizers, says teachers are upset by the decision.

"This is a unique chance for Surrey educators to network, learn and discuss and share with researchers and colleagues. Research shows that professional development leads to better instruction and improved student learning," Chelali said. "This decision is wrong and I am calling on the school board to reverse its decision."

School district spokesman Doug Strachan says the district can't spare the teachers due to teacher job action.

The BC Teachers' Federation and the B.C. Public School Employers' Association are in the midst of contract negotiations.

In June, teachers voted in favour of strike action to back up their demands by a margin of 90 per cent.

The union launched phase one of its job action strategy at the start of the school year and teachers are refusing to perform non-teaching duties such as filling out forms and supervision.

Strachan said the decision to restrict teachers' professional development days was based on the safety of students. He said the school district has to ensure that there are enough teachers-on-call to cover supervision during the job action.

As a result of job action, the school district can no longer enlist non-enrolling teachers, such as librarians and counselors, to fill in for absent teachers and so the district was forced to bar French immersion teachers from attending the conference to make sure the district isn't caught short, he said.

"Our first priority is to ensure that we have enough people in place to cover supervision for the safety of our students," Strachan said.

He added school principals sometimes cover for absent teachers but due to job action they're busy with the additional administrative duties that teachers are refusing to do.

Strachan noted the ban on time off work during the labour dispute applies to everyone.

"The same approach applies to all our management and non-union staff. There's no vacations and no Pro-D unless there's some kind of exceptional circumstances where something has been paid for well in advance," he said.

But Strachan didn't close the door entirely.

He said some of Surrey's French immersion teachers might be able to attend the conference if the job action situation changes.

The Canadian Association of French Immersion Teachers conference is set for Nov. 3 and 4.

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Source: Surrey NOW