The Delta school district faces tremendous uncertainty as a result of the recent court ruling in favour of teachers.
Last month, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled that provincial legislation introduced in 2002 that removed class size and composition from contract negotiations was unconstitutional. That ruling
is a significant blow to the province as it was ordered to immediately restore limits to 2002 levels. Victoria is now asking the court to temporarily suspend parts of the ruling in favour of the B.C. Teachers' Federation until an appeal is heard, citing "financial harm in the additional costs imposed on British Columbia's 60 school districts."
It could prove to be a big blow to cash-strapped districts like Delta, which already must perform an annual juggling act with its budget to meet current class size restrictions.
In its application for a stay, the province filed affidavits on behalf of several school district superintendents, including Delta, where it's claimed an extra $3.4 million would be required to hire additional teachers now.
It's not clear if the Delta school board would be required to immediately change its class size and composition numbers. Even waiting until September would have a significant impact on the upcoming budget if additional funding doesn't come from the province.
Noting chairperson Laura Dixon and superintendent Dianne Turner can't comment at this time, a spokesperson told the Optimist the district has been required to submit a report to the Ministry of Education outlining the potential impact of the court ruling. However, the information in that report is only preliminary because there are too many variables to determine concrete impacts.
Questioning how students could possibly be harmed by smaller classes and more resources, Delta Teachers' Association president Paul Steer said the government is now resorting to scare tactics.
Steer, who sent a letter to the school board stating he expects class size provisions to be adjusted without delay, is awaiting a response.
"We're not being at all unreasonable. The ruling is the ruling and we know what the contract says. Our advice to government is to comply with this and let's move on and start restoring that which was unjustly taken away."
Delta South MLA Vicki Huntington said she's concerned about the ripple effect for Delta if the province, which is already chronically underfunding districts, refuses to provide the money to pay for the classroom adjustments.
