DELTA — Both sides in the ongoing teachers' dispute should make a much stronger effort to stay at the negotiating table now that negotiations have resumed, says Delta board of education chair Laura Dixon.
Pleased that some optimism has been expressed as bargaining teams agreed to meet Friday in their first face-to-face talks since June, when the B.C. Teachers' Federation launched a full-scale strike, Dixon said the dispute has dragged on for too long and must not jeopardize the beginning of the school year.
"We need this to be a genuine attempt and we need them to stay at the table. I don't see how waiting and further disrupting the children for the start of their term would add any benefit whatsoever," she said. "They know their positions now, and they need to be able to hammer those out. They need to remember it's our students who have to come first in all of this."
Saying school boards have been frustrated at the level of animosity and how things have been allowed to play out, Dixon also said the B.C. School Trustees Association's recent Action Plan calls for a negotiated settlement by Aug. 31.
She said that in the future, trustees should somehow be directly involved in the negotiating process, since they understand the complexities of public education more than an appointed bargaining agent.
Dixon added a letter will soon be sent to parents notifying them of the latest updates.
Education Minister Peter Fassbender said last week that each side was expected to make a contract presentation at Friday's meeting.
He said he is optimistic that a negotiated settlement can be reached before school starts next month.
He added the government will bring new "concepts" to the table.
Delta Teachers' Association president Paul Steer is also hopeful things won't fall apart once again, but the province must realize that its offer, to this point, has been unfair to teachers and students.
"Teachers are inherently very reasonable. They don't want to see waste or vast oceans of money thrown at something with no positive effect. That's not what teachers want," Steer said.
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