Teachers hit the picket lines in SD68 and a quarter of the other school districts in the province today for day two of rotating walkouts by the BCTF.
Teachers outside Randerson Ridge Elementary were joined on Tuesday afternoon by Nanaimo District Teachers Association President Mike Ball and BCTF 2nd Vice President Terri Mooring.
Mooring says she spent the day visiting different picket lines to support teachers standing up for public education.
Mooring says teachers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions, and the impact of large class sizes and layoffs is being felt by the kids who need the most help.
Mooring says a record number of teachers are being laid off across the province, while the Ministry of Education claims funding is higher than ever, which she says just doesn’t add up.
Meanwhile, Mike Ball says he thinks the walkouts are going to continue into next week.
Tomorrow, Qualicum District schools will be affected by the walkouts, and SD46 on the Sunshine Coast will feel the effects on Thursday. The BCTF says an announcement about the possible continuation of the rotating walkouts will be made Wednesday afternoon.
For those schools not impacted by the rotating walkouts, a partial lockout imposed by the Public School Employers Association is still in effect. It means teachers are limited as to when they can arrive at school and how long they can stay after school. It’s also impacting extracurricular activities in some school districts.
