Yes or no day for B.C. teachers

NEWS/ SCHOOLS — B.C. teachers, and everybody else in the province, will know tonight (Thursday) whether schools will open next week.

The teachers, including those in the Kamloops-Thompson School District, vote today on whether to ratify a contract settlement with the provincial government.

The Kamloops teachers gathered Wednesday to listen to details of the package, and some were approaching the vote with misgivings. A letter sent to teachers by the B.C. Teachers Federation, obtained by CBC News, confirmed that the deal is for six years and includes a salary increase of 7.25 per cent, improved health and dental benefits, an increase in classroom preparation time, money for 850 more teaching positions, and $105 million in signing bonuses.

The salary increases would be zero per cent July 1, 2013; two per cent Sept. 1, 2014; 1.25 per cent Jan. 1, 2015, zero per cent July 1, 2015; one per cent July 1, 2016; .5 per cent July 1, 2017, one per cent May 1, 2018; .5 per cent July 1, 2018 and one per cent May 1, 2019.

Some teachers are urging that the deal be rejected, saying it isn’t good enough. Victoria teacher Tara Ehrcke wrote in an online post that the deal would do little to end overcrowding in classrooms, said the Globe and Mail.

Premier Christy Clark said in Kamloops on Wednesday the deal represents “a truce.” Info News reported that teachers gathered outside the Chamber of Commerce luncheon rallying for education.