Managing uncertainty biggest challenge for district as it prepares for strike next week

NEWS/ SCHOOLS — School officials are hurriedly preparing for next Wednesday, when teachers in Kamloops-Thompson join rotating strikes around the province.

The one-day closure has left parents scrambling to find day care and with no telling as to how long it may be needed. In District 73 the lost day means the postponement or cancellation of a district track meet.

Yet the biggest challenge confronting the district is not the one-day walkout. It’s the uncertainty of what happens after, said Karl deBruijn, assistant superintendent.

“We have a letter going out today, basically informing parents who may not be aware that the schools will be behind picket lines and essentially closed (on Wednesday).”

As well, the district is using its phone fan-out system, to reach parents through their home and cellphones while providing links to School District 73, where updated information will be provided.

But the district isn’t always in the know as the dispute plays out day by day.

“Sometimes we get informed. We can’t tell in advance what happens. We have no idea that this will continue on beyond next week, whether it’s a one-day matter or beyond. In some ways it depends on what happens provincially.

“There’s no way we can keep the schools open with just principals,” he added.

Support staff members are unionized and won’t cross a picket line, so keeping schools open that day is not an option.

On Wednesday, teachers will be on picket lines in front of all schools in the district, said Jason Karpuk, Kamloops-Thompson Teachers Association president.

“The teachers, I think, are done. We’re saying enough is enough.”

Some members of the public may feel that the teachers are using students as pawns, but that’s not the case, he added.

“It’s a one-day strike to improve the conditions for students for every other day. I hope cooler heads prevail. It’s a mechanism we have before us. Unfortunately it has come to this.

“We are really just demonstrating our displeasure with the way the government has decided to go with the negotiations,” he added. “We do know we’re falling further behind other jurisdictions.”

Karpuk knows the government is playing hardball; he’s less certain about public opinion.

“I’m not sure. I think the government feels they have a mandate because of the election results, but I’m not sure the public is behind that. We’ve spent the last 14 months trying to get a deal and we still don’t have a deal.

“I think the point has to be made that if you want to be one of the top education systems in the world, we need salaries to attract people and we also need funding to support resources and students. We had an enviable education system for many years.”