Local teachers got to see the new headquarters of the Delta Teachers' Association at an open house last Wednesday afternoon
The office at the Ladner Professional Building (1104977 Trenant St.) in the village is strata space purchased by the association.
President Paul Steer told the Optimist the DTA no longer wanted to rent, but it took years to find a suitable office space for purchase due to a shortage and high demand for offices.
Steer said it was important to find space that was centrally located.
The Optimist used the open house to ask Steer for his take on a couple of recent developments, including Dale Saip's announcement he wouldn't be seeking the chairperson's position on the Delta school board for another term.
"He's definitely one of the longest serving trustees in Delta and has been a constancy for the Delta school district over the years. He certainly understands the public role he has with the school board is in addition to the business of everything else in his regular life," said Steer.
"We have certainly always enjoyed our positive working relationship," he said.
Asked for his take on word the provincial government was planning sweeping changes to the international student program, Steer said the biggest issue remains how districts are relying more and more on international student dollars to make up for chronic funding shortfalls.
"The reason we have international students in Delta really is a matter of financial need," he said.
"While teachers welcome international students in their classroom, as we do all students, and appreciate the tremendous diversity international students bring, we do have to acknowledge their presence in Delta is because of a continuing need to have additional funds to meet the needs of students we already have," he said.
Noting public schools are welcoming places with diverse environments, Steer said equity of funding and distribution of resources are needed for the many programs throughout the system.
Steer said while the Delta district has done a good job promoting its international program, a challenge is to maintain continuity.
He pointed to Delta at one point having mostly Korean students in the local international program, but circumstances in that country resulted in big changes that saw a huge drop in students coming from Korea.
