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Your Week Weekly k l y CClover l o ver Valley Newspaper September 18, 2014 Y www.CloverdaleReporter.com Y 604-575-2405
Anxious and ready to go: Surrey Schools School opening hinges on ratification vote, ‘Pro-D’ day By Jennifer Lang Surrey’s 70,000 public school students could be heading back to class as soon as Monday morning, following the announcement Tuesday of an agreement to end the lengthy B.C. teachers strike. Apparently it’s a six-year deal, giving five years of labour peace with teachers going forward. “As a district, we’re anxious and ready to go,” Surrey School District communications manager Doug Strachan said a few hours after a tentative deal was struck, paving the way for today’s expected ratification vote by the B.C. Teachers’ Federation. “We’re excited and happy to hear the news.” Details of the tentative deal are being withheld until the BCTF and the province’s negotiators have a final document to present. “We have to wait as everybody does to see the processes unfold,” Strachan said. “We look forward to having everybody back.” Monday (Sept. 22), is a non-instructional day in Surrey, according to the district calendar, throwing up another question mark. “We will look at the potential to move that date, if it’s called for, in conjunction with our teachers’ local, but of course we are waiting to see if there is anything addressed in the agreement regarding opening day,” Strachan said. He advised parents and students to monitor the news media, and to check with the Surrey School District’s website (SurreySchools.ca), where bulletins have been posted throughout the strike. “A resolution at the bargaining table is by far the best outcome for
public education in British Columbia and this is great news,” Surrey Schools Superintendent Jordan Tinney said Tuesday in a letter to parents, congratulating bargaining teams on both sides and mediator Vince Ready. “We now turn our minds to the details of opening our sites and welcoming our teachers, support staff and children back to school,” Tinney said. With a ratification vote of 40,000 union members expected to be held Thursday, the province’s 60 school districts are attempting to return to regular classes next week after five weeks of full-scale strike action that began last June. Premier Christy Clark said if the vote passes, schools will be up and running again as early as Monday. She thanked parents for their patience as the strike dragged into the fall. Education Minister Peter Fassbender has said a plan will be developed to make up missed instructional days, which could involve rescheduling Christmas and spring break. “This is wonderful news for the students, teachers, administrators, support staff, trustees and parents in B.C.,” said B.C. School Trustees’ Association president Teresa Rezansoff. “The immediate goal is to get students back in classes as quickly as possible.” The B.C. Public School Employers’ Association was seeking a six-year agreement with wage increases of just over one per cent per year, in line with other settlements in the provincial public service. A fund to address class size and composition has been a key issue in the dispute.
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– With files Black Press
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‘Every horse has different aspects to her foot. It’s just like people,’ says Standardbred owner, trainer, driver and journeyman farrier Allan Molloy, 32, who outfitted his filly, Official Connection, with a pair of new steel shoes during a demonstration at Saturday’s Harness Racing B.C. open house. Molloy started learning the farrier trade as a boy in Australia. For more on the races at Fraser Downs and the open house, see page 12.
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