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Strike will close schools for one day

SURREY - Schools in the province's largest school district will be shut down on Thursday (May 29) as part of the escalation of job action to rotating strikes by B.C. teachers.

 

The announcement was made Tuesday by B.C. Teachers Federation President Jim Iker after the province announced last week that they would look at cutting back teachers' wages by five per cent if an agreement was not reached by the end of June.

 

Teachers planned to hold a rally Wednesday (May 21) once schools were out on King George Boulevard between 74th and 76th avenues. The province also announced last week they would no longer be seeking a 10-year deal with teachers, instead opting for a six-year deal and offering a $1,200 signing bonus if done before July.

 

Education Minister and Surrey-Fleetwood MLA Peter Fassbender said he was "disappointed" by the BCTF's decision, noting the government had made concessions by no longer seeking the 10-year deal.

 

"We put a signing bonus on the table for teachers again to show that we understand the financial issues they were talking about," he said following the BCTF's announcement. "I sincerely hope that the teachers of this province, the parents realize that our goal is a negotiated settlement."

 

The rotating strikes will fall over the course of four days next week, with different districts being affected from Monday to Thursday. Surrey school district, which includes White Rock, will be impacted Thursday, while schools in Delta will be affected Wednesday.

 

Surrey school board chair Shawn Wilson said he began receiving phone calls from concerned parents within an hour of the BCTF making their announcement.

 

"Anytime we're talking about closing schools there's going to be disappointment and aggravation," he said. "Obviously they want to know as early as possible what we might be able to do to help support them so staff is working on that now."

 

Wilson said at this point, parents are being asked to monitor the websites of their children's schools for the latest and any advisories on whether or not they should send their kids to school will be posted there.

 

Monday, May 26 is scheduled as a professional development day, so parents are now facing two days of having to find somewhere for their children to be next week.

 

"So that's what's been concerning a lot of parents is that there's a Pro-D day on Monday and then along comes Thursday and they're off again, so it's kind of like double jeopardy in the same week," he explained.

 

"You might get some parents that are of the mindset that they're going to send their kids to school come hell or high water, but I can't recall if that's ever happened before."

 

Teachers began first stage job action in April. The last time B.C. teachers walked off the job was in the fall of 2005 when they illegally went on strike for two weeks.

 

cpoon@thenownewspaper.com