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Hundreds of Vancouver teachers receive possible layoff notices today

Two-hundred-and-eighty-two Vancouver teachers will be receiving some unwanted mail today: notices of possible layoffs at the end of this school year. But while it's raising some alarm, the Vancouver School Board says the number of layoffs will likely not be that high.

"The notices are being issued in accordance with the collective agreement and arbitration awards, which says that if the board contemplates possible layoffs, then we have to issue a notice of potential layoffs to teachers," says David Weir, communications manager for the Vancouver School Board (VSB).

"The collective agreement arbitration award language also requires us to gather and update teacher qualification notifications in advance of contemplated layoff notices. So the letter that teachers will start to receive today asks them to ensure that their qualifications have been updated with the district."

Weir says qualifications need to be updated because teachers who have furthered their education, or are in the process of doing so, could bump teachers with similar seniority but less education.

Every teacher with less than three years and two months on the job will be issued a letter, a total of 341 teachers. Last year 800 letters of notification were sent out, but only 52.5 Full Time Equivalency instructional teacher positions were cut.

But the Vancouver Teachers' Federation, who is in talks over a collective agreement with the VSB, is worried that any cuts to teachers will affect the quality of education.

"This will mean fewer resources and support for our most vulnerable students," says Chris Harris, president of the Vancouver Elementary Teachers' Association, in a press release issued on Friday.

"Vancouver already has some of the highest class size averages in the province in elementary schools. With the introduction of full day kindergarten for everyone next year, we'll need more classroom teachers, not fewer. If a layoff does occur, this means, once again, that the services of specialist teachers who support ESL learners, students with special needs, and other vulnerable students will be severely eroded."

The final decision on layoffs won't be released until May, when the final budget is approved. The VSB is forecasted to have an $11.8 million shortfall, which the Teacher's Federation says is part of an accumulative $80 million in cumulative budget shortfalls since 2002/03.

Katie Hyslop reports on education for the Tyee Solutions Society, and is a freelance reporter for a number of other outlets including The Tyee.

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