In announcing the government's appeal of the Supreme Court ruling in favour of the B.C. Teachers' Federation (BCTF), Education Minister Peter Fassbender said it would cost taxpayers "upwards of $1-billion" to restore classrooms to the contract language that existed in 2002.
However, with 60 school districts, each with different needs, budget issues and contract language, the cost of such a restoration is a complex calculation. The BCTF says the province has lost close to 1,400 specialist positions.
School districts are now calculating the implications of the ruling; here is what some of them are saying:
Vancouver School Board
The Vancouver School Board estimates it would need $47-million in additional funding to match the 2002-2003 service levels. This breaks down to $31.5-million in lost staffing, including 524 entry-level teachers, and $15.5-million in loss of supplies and services such as technology and building maintenance, according to the VSB. This estimate is based on the school board’s 2002-2003 base budget, which was adjusted to reflect a number of factors, including collective agreement increases and changes in student enrolment. (Pictured: Grade 12 students Stephen Keitlah, 17, left, and Gerald Angus, 17, talk outside Britannia Secondary School in Vancouver on Jan. 21, 2014.)
Surrey Schools
Surrey is one of the fastest-growing cities in the Metro Vancouver area, with one-third of its residents under the age of 19. If pre-2002 contract language was restored now, the city says it would have 18 more teacher-librarians, 19 more counsellors, 51 more special-education teachers and 80 English-language learner teachers. (Pictured: Robyn Thiessen works with students Mehar Shergill, 10, left, and Kabir Sidhu, 10, at Green Timbers Elementary School in Surrey, B.C., on Jan. 09, 2014.)
Kamloops/Thompson (School District No. 73)
The Kamloops/Thompson school district is calculating what a restoration of the contract language would mean and is expected to have a better idea next week, said Superintendent Terry Sullivan. While he says some teacher-student ratios are better than 2002 levels, he expressed concern that a shift in ratios could create a ripple effect through schools (Pictured: A third of the students at Brocklehurst Secondary School in Kamloops, B.C., about 300 in total, walk out of school on Jan. 9, 2002, in protest to send a message to the government that they would like the teachers' job dispute to end.)