Education issues set to simmer through the summer

"This is not a district that can afford two substantial severance packages, in as many years. This is money that could be used to provide additional assistance to our students with special needs, increasing teacher librarian time, or reducing our class sizes" -- The closing points to a recent letter to the editor of the Daily News, from Joanna Larson of the PRDTU, setting the tone for the current state of relations between teachers and administration at School District 52

Students may be taking a break by the end of this week with little thought of the classroom until September, but for a number of levels of education on the North coast, the upcoming summer could be a very interesting and hot one on the educational labour front.

The last few weeks have seen a number of flashpoints in labour relations come to pass both in School District 52 and over at the Lax Kw'alaams Academy.

School District 52 has once again reached the end of a school year with a bit of controversy nipping at its heels, as recent administrative changes have given cause to a few raised eyebrows and concerns that the focus of the District is being placed on bureaucratic politics, rather than academic achievement and support for students.

At the last school board meeting of the year, local leaders of the PRDTU expressed their concern over the deteriorating level of relations between the teachers' union and the board administration. With a high volume of grievances filed over the spring staffing and bumping provisions, the fear of morale issues was raised with the teacher's union expressing it's thoughts on the recent moves in those areas of the school District.

Another item that has come up on the radar of local teachers, parents and ratepayers is the recently announced retirement of assistant superintendent Leah Robinson, who will take a leave of absence for the coming school year and then retire in July of 2011.

That move has set in motion a string of changes to the administration roster, involving the moving of administration personnel into  new positions and in some cases split duties. The increase to the administration ranks is just one of a number of items that the local teacher's union had on their list regarding the current state of events with the School District.

Many of those concerns were addressed in a letter to the editor penned by Joanna Larson, the acting president of the PRDTU who submitted them to the Daily News editorial page on June 16.

Letter to the Editor
Prince Rupert Daily News
Wednesday, June 16, 2010

To the Editor, 


In response to the article titled ‘School board, teachers in dispute’ June 14, 2010 Prince Rupert Daily News. 


The Prince Rupert District Teachers’ Union was not able to respond to the comments of Hugh Finlayson, and Tina Last in this article. It is however, important for us to correct inaccuracies contained in the article. 


BCPSEA CEO Hugh Finlayson reported that the ‘hard bump’ protocol that teachers and the school district have agreed to use for the past eleven years was an agreement to waive the provisions of the collective agreement. Either Mr. Finlayson is unfamiliar with the Prince Rupert Collective Agreement, or he was given misinformation from our school board. 


The ‘hard bump’ protocol originally agreed upon in the spring of 1999, and continued for more than a decade, did not require any provision in our collective agreement to be waived. Not a single grievance arose for more than a decade when this protocol was in use. 


Today there have been 88 grievances filed since May alleging contract violations directly relating to the new process the board has made the decision to impose upon our teachers this year. 


Mr. Finlayson also states the hard bump process is the most disruptive of the layoff processes and may displace the greatest number of teachers and cause more layoffs than would otherwise occur. The current process the school district is using, served 27 teachers with notices of termination in order to place five teachers declared surplus to their sites. 


The protocol Mr. Finlayson claims to be more disruptive would have required not a single notice of termination. The district has been upfront that there would be a reduction of 3.5 teachers in our district. With 8 retirements and at least 3 resignations, the hard bump process used for the past decade would have resulted in no new notices of termination. 


In response to the growing division between the PRDTU and the school board, teachers have spoken with all trustees throughout the past year. Letters have been written, and presentations made. The only consistent response we have received is that trustees are, and were unaware of any problems between teachers and their employer. The last letter sent to the Board addressing this poor working relationship was sent on May 26th. To date, there has been no response. 


It is troubling to note that while the number of teachers in the district has been reduced, the number of administrators has increased. The union is also deeply concerned with the two recent appointments made to senior management. 


Part of the process of placing these individuals into senior management positions involved awarding a senior administrator a severance package. This is not a district that can afford two substantial severance packages, in as many years. This is money that could be used to provide additional assistance to our students with special needs, increasing teacher librarian time, or reducing our class sizes. 


- Joanna Larson, Acting President Prince Rupert Teachers’ Union, Local 52

Some of the review of School District 52 News from various media options in the last few weeks.

CFTK TV 7-- More staffing changes at SD 52
Daily News - School Board, teachers in dispute
CFTK TV 7 News- SD #52 Assistant Superintendent taking leave of absence during 2010/2011 school year. 
CFTK TV 7 News - More School District 52 changes

Lax Kw'alaams also has a summer of discontent to work out, as local teachers there seek a unionized work environment.

The drive towards a union came about after a pair of high profile dismissals from the Academy took place, resulting in a number of those teachers remaining on staff seeking out guidance from the BCGEU. And while teacher representatives seem a little surprised at the sudden glare of the media on the issue, the process towards a union seems to be in motion.

Daily News -- Lax Kw’ alaams school goes union
CFTK TV 7 News-- Union Organizes at Lax Kw'alaams School

Ecole Westview School to close in 2011 as School District 52 completes its closure debate

After months of consultations and discussion, School District 52 trustees made their final decision on Tuesday night as to which of Prince Rupert's elementary schools would be closed.

Citing the impact of dramatic enrollment decline and the financial challenges facing the school district at this time, Tina Last, the Chair of the Board of Education, explained the decisions that led to the decision to close Ecole Westview School on the city's west side.

 The details of the decision were provided in a press release posted to the School District 52 website on Wednesday. The decision means that Westview will remain open for one more year, with the French Immersion program transfering to Roosevelt School in 2011-2012. The remainder of Westview's students will then transfer over to Pineridge in that school year as well.

The fate of Port Edward school will remain up for debate for another three to six months, as the School District and the District of Port Edward conduct further discussion on the options for schooling in Port Edward. That community has recently completed its own study on the issue, and it's expected that those findings will make up a good portion of those discussions.

The closure of Westview, completes for now a cycle of closures in the School District over the last few years, which saw east side schools Seal Cove and Kanata closed two years ago and the decision to close Prince Rupert Secondary School previously announced for 2011-2012, merging the two high schools at Charles Hays and creating a middle school program for grades 6-8 on the site of the current Prince Rupert Secondary School. (Archive items here and here)

The restructuring program will begin in 2011, with the remaining elementary schools in the system K-5, a middle school and Charles Hays Secondary School as well as the Pacific Coast School all part of the School District flow chart. With this final phase of the review of education in the District now complete, the School District will move forward with its five year Capital plan and seek out funding for the construction of a new facility to serve as the middle school.

The entire process of reconfiguration and closure has been an emotional roller coaster for many parents, students, teachers and administrators, in the press release the School District offered up the reasoning that these changes have been moved forward so as to  enhance the educational outcomes of the students of our community - not just for today but for the future.

And while the School District moves ahead with its blue print, there is no doubt much disappointment in many areas of the city over the loss of their community schools, that played large roles in neighbourhoods across the city. The middle school option which  seemed to be the preferred choice of this School District from the outset has not been universally accepted by all as a desired solution, and by its creation the feeder schools loose their grade six students which for some parents was something that they had wished to avoid.

Still to be heard as well will be how many if any staffing changes take place within the District owing to the closures and reconfiguration plans ahead.

While the School District Chair makes mention of the financial challenges facing the community due to the population decline, not lost on parents and taxpayers are some controversial hirings and departures of the past few years, which saw some consultants bills and employee payouts come to pass during this most financially dangerous moment for the School District. Much of that period of time and those intriguing events passed without explanation from the School District, a move that left a fair amount of room for cynicism over recent decisions and directions.

They are all items of interest that we are sure that will continue to dominate the debate as the School District moves forward towards its new design for education in Prince Rupert. While Tuesday night's decision, may indeed bring closure to the process of configuration, we're not so sure that the debate over education in the city will be at an end any time soon.

Daily News-- With Heavy hearts, Board closes Westview 
CFTK-- Prince Rupert's Ecole Westview To Close in 2011

A familiar name returns to School District 52

The search for a new Superintendent for School District 52 has come to a short and successful conclusion with the announcement that a familiar name to education circles in the city will be returning to the North Coast.

The Northern View has outlined some of the details on the hiring of Lynn Hauptman to the recently vacated position once held by Eric Mercer.

Mrs. Hauptman held many positions in her time with the School District between 1981-95 including principal, vice-principal, counselor and teacher. Since those years she has been involved in education in a pair of school districts in the southern interior, currently as the Director of Instruction for the Okanagan Skaha school district.

Her arrival back to the North coast is set to take effect on August 1st, with the School District no doubt hoping that her knowledge of the issues of the north coast and familiarity with the district will lend some stability to the local education scene, which has had it's share of tempestuous times in recent years.

Dave Stigant has been filling in as acting Superintendent since the departure of Mr. Mercer, he will continue on in that capacity and will most likely play a welcome role in the transition to Mrs. Hauptman's stewardship of the district.

Port Edward mulls over their plans for the district school

Officials in Port Edward are continuing to put together some ideas as to how they can keep formal education as part of the Community, as the prepare a number of options to put forward whenever a planned meeting with Ministry of Education officials will take place.

Minister of Education Shirley Bond has said that she wants officials from her Ministry to meet with Port Ed officials to take a look at ways to keep the school open for the community.

Port Ed and the School District 52 board will also get together to discuss how the school could be used more by the community, making it possible to keep the much discussed option of keeping the school open.

The details of the various options that are up for debate were provided in the Daily News on Tuesday.

Plenty of options for Port Ed School
BY KRIS SCHUMACHER
The Daily News
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Pages one and three

Discussions between the District of Port Edward and School District 52 will continue this month regarding the future of Port Edward Elementary School, but already the two sides have drafted a number of options.

At the last meeting between the School District and Port Edward, the two sides put together a list of possible options regarding how the education of school-aged children can be kept within the community.

The seven options put forward from both sides included renovating the bottom floor of the District of Port Edward municipal building to include classrooms; putting an addition on to the existing municipal building that would house the community school; demolishing half of Port Edward Elementary School, saving the gym and a portion of the classrooms; building a new, smaller school on the property behind the current school; putting portable classrooms on the District of Port Edward municipal building property; relocating the District of Port Edward municipal operations to the bottom floor of Port Edward Elementary; or selling the school and property and putting portables on the field and playground property owned by the District of Port Edward.

"At the last two meetings I've been at, both the District of Port Ed and the school district said how we feel we should go about it and had discussions on how the school could work and be used more," said District of Port Edward Mayor Dave McDonald.

"I wouldn't call those 'options,' I would say that the meetings were wide-open to discuss whatever we wanted. Some of those were our suggestions and some of those were their suggestions, but it was really everyone coming to the table with open minds. And we're not done by any stretch of the imagination."

McDonald sent a letter to the board in late October, informing SD52 that he had met with Minister of Education Shirley Bond at September's Union of British Columbia Municipalities annual meeting. At the meeting, Minister Bond told him that she would be sending senior staff to meet with the District of Port Edward and school trustees to discuss the possibility of keeping the community school open.

However, McDonald said the official visit has not yet happened.

The next meeting between Port Ed and the school board has not been set yet, but McDonald said discussions are ongoing and he looks forward to working with the new board. The board will hold its first monthly meeting one week from tonight at 7 p.m. in the district building across from Lax Kxeen Elementary School.

Prince Rupert Fire Rescue identifies concerns at local schools

The recent downsizing of schools on the east side has streamed more students and equipment into the remaining rooms of education, a situation that at times is making for rather crowded and cramped quarters.

It’s that challenge of overcrowded conditions that has become a point of concern for the Prince Rupert Fire Department, which recently concluded inspections at two schools on the east side of the city, finding that the storage of desks in hallways a situation that is not allowed and would be an issue of concern for the fire department.

Prince Rupert Fire Rescue conducted their inspections after they received calls of concern from the public over the overcrowded nature of the hallways and classrooms. The School District is working to address those concerns and hopes to have the issues rectified by Christmas.

The background on the story was featured in Tuesday’s Daily News.

‘Crowded’ schools trigger safety concerns
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Page one

The closure of Kanata and Seal Cove Elementary Schools has presented new challenges in the form of overcrowding and created safety fears at receiving schools so far this year.

Prince Rupert Fire Rescue conducted fire safety inspections this month at Conrad Street and Lax Kxeen Elementary Schools, after receiving calls that the hallways and some classrooms were overly congested with tables, chairs and other items.

Obviously, with the influx of many new students and teaching materials at the two eastside elementary schools, staff have been challenged with the issue of space.

But as the Deputy Fire Chief Dave McKenzie told the district, using hallways is not a viable option for storing extra school resources.
“It’s a work in progress,” said McKenzie.

“The schools aren’t unsafe, but we can’t have stuff like desks and tables set up in hallways because it’s just not allowed. They’ve been working on it since we did the first inspection and they’ve done quite a bit of the stuff needed already. We know the classrooms are maximized, but it doesn’t change the rules.”

School District 52 Secretary Treasure Kim Morris confirmed that district staff have been working to address the concerns brought forth by the fire department, but said that not everything on their list had been completed yet. It is hoped that before Christmas all the items will be stored safely within the schools or in another district building.

Former Charles Hays teacher terminated after School District invesgtigation

A Prince Rupert high school teacher who was arrested in 2007 on three counts of sexual exploitation of a young person, has been terminated from his position with School District 52.

The charges laid against Dana Allison Monteith are currently working their way through the province's legal system, but after an internal investigation by Superintendent of Schools Eric Mercer, the recommendation to the Board of Education was to terminate Mr. Monteith.

The Daily News provided a review of the School District investigation and the process involved that led to the termination decision of this past week.

Sex charge teacher is let go by the school district
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Thursday, September 18, 2008

Pages one and two

At a special meeting of the Board of Education held on Monday, Prince Rupert School District 52 decided to discharge former Charles Hays Secondary School science teacher Dana Monteith from his employment with the district.

Dana Allison Monteith was arrested on three counts of sexual exploitation of a young person on Dec. 22, 2007, and appeared before a justice of the peace the following day.

He was later released on nine strict conditions, which include not having contact with any female person under the age of 18 at his residence; and not being in the company of any female person under 18 except in the company of an adult over 25 years.

The offences were alleged to have taken place between June 2005 and July 2007, and it is alleged that he used his position as a teacher to facilitate relationships with his victims, both current and former students. Superintendent of Schools Eric Mercer began an investigation into the allegations against Monteith shortly after the charges were laid, a process that ran parallel and in cooperation with the RCMP's criminal investigation. Monteith was initially suspended with pay, and after making a recommendation to the board, School District 52 trustees approved Mercer's recommendation to suspend Monteith without pay.

"The superintendent had since completed his investigation, and made the recommendation to the Board of Education to terminate Mr. Monteith, which the board decided to uphold at a special in-camera meeting," said Tina Last, chair of the School District 52 board.

"Trustees are fully informed to make that decision, so whatever the superintendent discovers in his investigation is what he provides us with to make that decision. Everyone in the room would have had to make themselves available at some point to access those reports prior to the meeting. The superintendent did a very thorough investigation and provided us with the information we needed to make the decision we made."

In cases of criminal allegations against employees, the Board of Education conducts their own investigation into the matter.

The board may conclude their own investigation and decide to terminate an employee even while the criminal case is still underway, because the British Columbia College of Teachers' Standards holds teachers to a higher standard of expectation than the law, both morally and ethically.

Last explained that the Board of Education does not require the allegations to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt as in criminal law, but rather only "believe that he engaged in the conduct of which he is accused."

Court case ends with sentencing for former Charles Hays teacher

A five year jail term was pronounced for Michael Kolesar this week, bringing to an end an almost 18 month process from arrest, to trial, to conviction on sexual assault and sexual exploitation charges.

The Daily News provided the background on the process as their front page, headline story in Friday's paper.

EX-CHSS TEACHER HANDED FIVE YEARS FOR SEX CRIMES
Two special needs students subjected to many years of abuse by Michael Kolesar
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Friday, September 12, 2008
Pages one and two

Former Charles Hays Secondary School teacher Michael Anthony Kolesar was this week sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a person with a disability.

Kolesar was arrested by Prince Rupert RCMP on Tues., March 27, 2007, and subsequently charged with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexual exploitation of a person with a disability.

A longtime Life Skills teacher for students with special needs and an athletics coach, Kolesar was arrested at his home and accused of sexual abuse inflicted on two female students between September 1997 and March 2007.

The court sentenced him to five years for each of the charges, which he will serve concurrently.
The criminal case had a publication and disclosure ban on any information that would disclose the identity of either victims.

Crown prosecutor Garth Loeppky requested between four and seven years jail time, and, because there were two complainants in the case, said that it should be closer to seven.
The defence counsel argued that three years would be sufficient.

"The judge reserved overnight to think about it and came back with a set of reasons that seemed to be well thought out and touched on all the important points," said Loeppky.

"She concluded that the main principles in a case like this are denunciation and deterrence, and she felt that five years would suffice. She also made an order that he provide a DNA sample, and that he register under the Sexual Offender Information Registration Act for 20 years. She made a weapons and ammunition prohibition for 10 years, and she made an order under 161 of the Criminal Code preventing him from hanging around playgrounds and other places where young children would likely frequent."

The school district terminated Kolesar and ended their involvement in the case after completing their own investigation into the allegations in late 2007.

School superintendent Eric Mercer said the school district was clearly interested in learning the outcome of the case given that Kolesar was a school district employee for over a decade. Mercer said that while it may seem unusual that a school district would pass their own judgment in a case that was still before the courts, the British Columbia College of Teachers' Standards holds teachers to a higher standard of expectation than the law, both morally and ethically.

"Even if Kolesar was not found guilty, we would have been challenged, but I would have worked to uphold the termination based on the investigation I conducted," said Mercer, who took over as Superintendent of Schools from Brian Kangas in spring 2007.

Mercer stressed that teachers in School District 52 will not face undue scrutiny due to the case or the fact that Dana Monteith, also a former teacher at Charles Hays, is facing unrelated charges. The physics teacher who headed the science department was charged in December 2007 with three counts of sexual exploitation of a young person, one count of which was dropped during the course of the investigation.

A third high school set to open in February

A new name and a new focus seems to be on the agenda for Pacific Coast School, the third high school for the city which will open its doors in February in the Cow Bay area of town.

And while the name may eventually evolve into a different moniker, the direction of the schools agenda will remain similar to it's predecessor, there will be new ideas in place to offer a variety of options and challenges to students who have had difficulty in the more established curriculum of the city's other two high schools.

Taking away the stigma of being identified as an "alternate school", the Pacific Coast School will have a staff of five to help guide the anticipated 50 students expected to enroll for February to take courses ranging from Grade eight to twelve, allowing students to achieve their Dogwood certificate or Adult Graduation certificates.

The Daily News featured a front page, headline story inw Wednesday's paper, with some background on the plans of the School District for the school, outlined by Principal Steve Riley.

FRESH PAGE WAITS FOR CITY'S NEWEST SECONDARY SCHOOL

Rupert's third high school will offer range of new options and ideas for its students
BY KRIS SCHUMACHER
The Daily News
Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Pages one and two

Prince Rupert will have a third secondary school in operation come February, which School District 52 hopes will provide more options for students working toward graduation.

The principal of School District 52's new and revamped alternate school Steve Riley made a special presentation to school board trustees at last night's first regular meeting of the 2008-09 school year, outlining an initial plan for how the school will operate when the doors open in February 2009.

As reported last month, the new school will be housed on the east side of Sea Sport building on First Avenue East in 4,000 square feet, with room to expand should enrollment surpass expectations in the future.

"We have an initial name, which is the Pacific Coast School," said Riley. "It's not written in stone, but it gives us a moniker which we can hang our hats on.

"Because of the concept of this school, we wanted to get away from the word 'alternate' and the connotations it has of 'less hope' or 'less chance.'"

There will be five full-time staff members at the school including Riley, with three teachers and one support staff worker to meet the needs of the anticipated 40 to 50 students that will begin classes in February.

Pacific Coast School will teach students from Grades 8 through 12, and will enable them to achieve either their Dogwood certificate or Adult Graduation certificate.

Riley said students will have access to various models of vocational training that will have the benefit to tying into the Provincial Apprenticeship Program, and that the school's location couldn't be better situated for students to take advantage of those skilled trades opportunities.

"Because we've got to be relying on a very flexible and accommodating approach for students, by utilizing technology, we're going to be able to offer some courses in computer technology and other academic disciplines for students who perhaps have problems with physics in high school," said Riley.

"Especially for our Grade 8 and 9 students, we're going to provide a type of education which is tailored to further developing individual and interpersonal growth," said Riley.

"Because we are small, it also allows us to build programs that capture children's imaginations in different ways."

Riley reported that Sea Sport planned to turn over the space to School District 52 within the next week.

A good portion of the materials and resources needed for the school will be coming from the closed schools Kanata and Seal Cove, and in the coming weeks and months Riley and other staff will be engaging prospective students to find out what programs they want at Pacific Coast School.

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"We're going to start in small steps because we want to get it right," stressed Riley.

"I think the success of the program and the students in it will lead to it's growth. I hope that it won't be a last option, but rather a first choice for students."

Former High School Teacher sentenced to prison time for sexual assaults

A disturbing and terrible period of time for a number of students, parents and staff at Charles Hays Secondary has come to a legal conclusion in Prince Rupert courts.

The trial of former teacher, Michael Anthony Kolesar came to an end on Tuesday as the former teacher was sentenced to five years in prison, for sexually assaulting students at the school.
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The shocking revelations of last year, called attention to every parent’s nightmare and one that is always a serious concern for School District 52 staff and officials.

Kolesar was charged in March of 2007 and terminated from his position with the School District in November that year.

In January of this year, as the police investigation continued, the School District was doing its best to reassure parents and students that the best interests of their students were their top priority.

TV 7 provided details on the final outcome of the trial and the sentencing which took place this morning.

Update: September 11, CBC News-- The CBC provided their own story on the sentencing of Mr. Kolesar, including the reaction of the School District to the end of the trial, thier posted story provided the opportunity for readers to comment on the issue, which many did. (see link here)

Teacher Sentenced for Sex Assaults
Tue, 2008-09-09 17:32.
Local News

A former Prince Rupert high school teacher has been sentenced to five years in prison for sexually assaulting students.

Michael Anthony Kolesar heard the decision from a B.C. Supreme Court Judge in Prince Rupert this morning.

He'd pleaded guilty earlier to two counts of sexual assault.

Kolesar was a grade 10 life skills teacher at Charles Hays Secondary School until he was fired last November.

He admitted in court to assaulting two of his students over a number of years.

Families of the victims in court today appeared satisfied with the sentence.

A psychiatric report stated Kolesar is confused about his sexuality but he is not a deviant or pedophile.

The court was told Kolesar, who is now in his late 50's, was born and raised in Victoria by an extremely violent father and an ill mother who couldn't help him.


Prince Rupert teacher gets 5 years for sexual abuse of special needs students
Last Updated: Thursday, September 11, 2008 2:02 PM ET
Comments17Recommend9
CBC News

A teacher in Prince Rupert, B.C., has been sentenced to five years in jail for sexually assaulting two female special-needs students for more than 10 years.

Michael Anthony Kolesar, 58, pleaded guilty to sexual assault and sexual exploitation of a person with a disability after his arrest in March 2007.

For years, the popular teacher coached sports at Charles Hays Secondary School in Prince Rupert and taught life skills to special-needs students .

The sexual abuse began when the girls were just five or six years old and occurred mostly in the victims' homes and not on school property, according to school superintendent Eric Mercer.
Mercer said he found the crime disturbing and was shocked by Kolesar's arrest because he had a solid reputation in the community.

"The fact that the children have disabilities and perhaps were not able to resist or understand the situation in my mind this is a particularly heinous crime," Mercer said Wednesday.

Mercer said the school district's response has been "low-key and respectful," partly because Kolesar's wife is a teacher in the city, his daughter has just graduated from the high school and the family has been involved in the community for years.

He said students won't receive any special counselling and teachers won't face more scrutiny.
Another teacher from the same Prince Rupert school is facing charges in an unrelated case for allegedly sexually exploiting three students.

Dana Allison Monteith, 37, a male physics teacher who headed the high school's science department, was charged in December 2007 with three counts of sexual exploitation of a young person. That case involves three students.

School District seeks conditions before children will be placed in local schools

With the first week of September, also counting as the first week of the new school year, the bid of a Prince Rupert woman to have her children placed in School District 52 made it to the front page of Thursday’s paper last week.

Bonita Wilson recounted for the Daily News some of the outstanding issues between her and the School District, an apparently complicated string of events that at one point had the School District cite section 91 of the School Act (see page 79-80) last year which saw her children temporarily removed from the system.

The issue clearly has put the School District in a rather tough spot, while they no doubt wish to provide an education to all; they must always balance off the safety of the entire student, staff population and the children themselves. It would appear that this was a situation that seems to have been of the highest concern last school year, judging by the drastic measures that they had to resort to.

It’s a situation that remain unresolved as of the first week of the school year but may find some forward movement this week when Wilson meets with School District 52 and the Ministry of Children and Family Development, all in a bid to try and return her children to the regular educational stream.

YOUNG CHILDREN ‘NOT ALLOWED’ IN ANY RUPERT SCHOOLS
School District says conditions must be met first prior to reinstatement
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Thursday, September 4, 2008

Page one

A woman who fought for nearly 10 years to get her children back from Ministry care is fighting again, this time to get her two sons back into school in Prince Rupert.

A ward of the province herself at the age of 12, Bonita Wilson says she was the victim of abuse as a young girl living in violent homes. Having her three children all taken from her custody when they were as young as six months old, she spent many years trying to get them back into her life, struggling with her own demons and the judicial system all the while.

“I got them back last year and found out that they aren’t allowed at any school here in Prince Rupert (earlier this week),” said Wilson.

“They’ve said that they need to be on Ritalin and that they’re problem children. They were already out of school for six months last year.”

The two children are currently living with Wilson, but remain wards of the province of British Columbia as they have been most of their lives.

Last year they were removed from the school district under section 91 of the School Act, which is used when children are a danger to themselves or to others, and the school district has exhausted efforts to meet the needs of a child while still keeping others safe.

As the suspension is only meant as a temporary last resort, a set of conditions are issued that must be met for the child to be allowed back on school grounds according to the school district.

“They can’t come onto the school property until they and the family deal with the serious issues that they are presented with,” said Superintendent of Schools Eric Mercer, “It’s very serious and it’s not done very often in school districts but it was applied to them last year.”

Generally school districts are expected to have made all efforts in attempting to deal with students prior to considering such a harsh suspension. Mercer said that numerous serious incidents involving the boys occurred where the welfare of other students and even staff were at risk, but did not reveal specifics.

Until those conditions have been satisfied, her children are not even allowed to partake in the Hospital/Homebound Program, where students receive course materials and have a teacher assigned to them who may visit from one to several times a week.

Wilson has a meeting with School District 52 staff and the Ministry of Children and Family Development next week to attempt to find a solution to getting the two children back into the educational system.

School District set for a school year with many changes

They’re down a few schools, as well as a few staff members and administrators, but ready or not the school year is set to get underway on September 2nd.

With the budget battles of April, May and June behind them for now, the School District is preparing to deal with the changes to the educational system that were announced as the last school year was winding down.

The Wednesday, August 27th edition of the Daily News featured a review of where the School District is at as they prepare to launch another year of learning for Prince Rupert’s eager students.

The paper also examined the funding situation across the province as well as the thoughts of Edcuation Minister shirley Bond on the ever controversial topic of the Founation Skills Assessment testing.

Local school year could be ‘exciting’
School district 52 prepares to begin a new era in Rupert
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Pages one and two

With a space for Prince Rupert‘s new alternate education school secured and new faces in every school, there is some good news for School District 52 in the upcoming 2008-09 school year.

Superintendent of Schools Eric Mercer said Tuesday that district staff has continued to work hard over the summer to enable smooth transition for students and staff of Kanata and Seal Cove into their new schools.

And based on the feedback the district got from the re-allocation of Pineridge staff and students towards the end of the last school year, mercer said he’s confident that there will be benefits to having schools at higher capacity this year.

“Even with a disaster from the fire in Pineridge and having to move those students to other schools, there were very good reports back,” said Mercer.

“As those schools moved to a higher capacity, the staff reported a lot of enthusiasm and vitality they felt in their change.

“I think it may have caused a lot of staff to seek transfers just for that renewal, so a positive thing actually came out of that tragic event. We’re expecting the same to occur for staff and students going into their new catchment areas.”

Mercer said that the severe shortage of administrative staff in the Lower Mainland has caused the district to lose a number of key administrators such as former Director of Instruction bill Ford and Pineridge Principal Darrell Wright, a problem that was recognized by many at a s Superintendent conference two weeks ago in Kelowna.

“We were able to move a few administrators around, and we just added Lax Keen teacher Barry Eso as the new vice principal at Roosevelt,” said Mercer.

“He’s excited and so are we because he’ll be a great addition to that school and our district admin staff.

“He’s been in the district about 18 years, and he’ll bring a lot of experience to the position.”

Also exciting, according to Mercer, is that the School District recently struck a deal with Robert Stromdahl to take over space in the building next to Seasport on First Avenue East in Cow Bay, where the district’s new alternate education program will be housed.

Mercer said Stromdahl has been great in helping with the necessary improvements to get the site ready for its opening in February.

“That’s going to be happening all through the year, and we’ll be petitioning and surveying the community as to what type of programs and delivery mechanisms they want to have,” said Mercer.

“It’s going to be a key distance learning school for us, and we’ll be rebranding it with a new name since it’s a new beginning for the district, It’s going to be a program we hope to draw students to, and get away from the negative aspect of students being sent there.”

Mercer said staff are already in place for the first semester who will be building programs and setting things up, while students in Grades 8 through 12 in the program will be housed at Prince Rupert Senior Secondary and Charles Hays Secondary School until the site is ready in February.

Mercer said he envisions having as many as 35 students enrolled in the new alternate program, but that he would be happy to have the problem of expansion if even more interest was shown.

Minister addresses education funding
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Pages two and five

Even while many school districts in British Columbia have been forced to cut millions in staff and services for the 2008-09 school year, the government is reporting record educational funding.

Yesterday Education Minister Shirley Bond outlined what Northern B. C. communities can expect in elementary and secondary schools this coming year. One of the most interesting points was that estimated per student funding for this year is $8,078, a $228 increase from last year and the highest amount ever spent on education in the province,

However, Bond did note that 56 of B. C.’s 60 school districts are projecting enrollment declines, with a provincial total of 8,073 less full-time public school students than in 2007-08.

“The trend as far as I can tell, looking at the research I’ve been given, looks like (enrollment decline) doesn’t even level off until 2015,” said Bond.

“We are basically in a decade of decline in terms of the numbers, and I want to point out that British Columbia is not alone in this.

“We have seen jurisdictions all around the world with declining enrollment similar to ours.”

The Minister also reiterated the province’s stance that Foundation Skills Assessment standardized testing are something the majority of British Columbians wan tin public schools, and that the government would continue to support the Grade 4, 7 and 10 testing.

“We think that (testing) is a critical component of putting information in teachers’ and parents’ hands to create those strategies,” said Bond. “We are not going to move away from the expectation that there be Foundation Skills Assessments in the province.

I think what we do need to recognize is this is not about ranking children.

“It’s about taking the data that’s provided through those assessments and others that take place within classrooms everyday to create strategies for success for students.

“I hope we can actually move beyond the debate about the necessity for them and spend more time on how we can effectively use the information.”

The government was proud to announce the investment of an estimated $52 million - $1,014 per student – for Aboriginal education in 2008-09, funding that will be used to support Aboriginal language and culture programs, and other localized Aboriginal education programs.

Bond also revealed that Grad 12 students in B. C. will have the option of taking a new program entitled Fires peoples English 12, an English equivalent course that students can use as a graduation and post-secondary entrance requirement.

“It will have a focus on Aboriginal literature, and our hope is that this will be an incentive for Aboriginal students to go on and take that course which is required for graduation,” said Bond. “I’m also pleased to note that we think many non-Aboriginal students will choose to take that course.

“One of my jobs was to ensure that course was used as equivalency in universities across the province, and the good news is that the majority of our post-secondary institutions have accepted this course. I think it’s a real step forward in how we meet the needs of Aboriginal students in British Columbia.”

Full-day Kindergarten was another topic of interest that Bond addressed, stating that the option would be a massive undertaking for British Columbia, but would likely prove to beneficial in the long-term.

“The return on investment in early learning is significant,” said Bond.

“Some studies say that for every dollar you invest in early learning saves $17 later on. The financial number will be large if we proceed with a program like this, but we think this is an important initiative.

“Parents today want more choice and this is one of things we can do to help that, but it’s also about better preparing children to the K to 12 system.

It’s a big job, it’s a very significant decision for this government to make, and the work is not yet finished.”

School District layoff plans face union backlash

While Prince Rupert parents learn of yet a few more of its School District administrators and former principals packing their bags for other opportunities elsewhere, the fallout from recent School District layoff decisions continues to grow.

Last weeks Northern View had details of plans from the International Union of Operating Engineers to contest the recent layoff announcements, suggesting that the School District is in violation of section 54 of the labour relations code, mainly due to the lack of proper notice to affected employees of their fates.

It's a challenge that School District Treasurer Kim Morris doesn't accept as she claims that the School District has indeed followed the proper process in the collective agreement.

Another contentious issue that has popped up on the labour front is a concern by the IUOE that the Treasurer exerted too much influence over local trustees regarding a recently held meeting between the District and the union. According to union General Manager , Saundra Taylor Morris had instructed trustees not to attend the meeting, leaving them unaware of the union side of the debate and the issues that they wanted to impress upon the local elected officials.

The sabre rattling of the summer months, no doubt suggests that things will be heating up shortly as the plans continue to evolve for School District 52 as they try to meet the financial challenges that have been placed upon them after funding reductions from Victoria.,

The Northern View provided a bit of background on the stormy relationship between one union and the District, with an update on their website.

Union fights layoffs
By Brooke Ward
The Northern View
July 01, 2008

When International Union of Operating Engineers general manager Saundra Taylor was in town last week and made an appearance at the special board meeting, she made her thoughts on the districts “massive layoffs” well known, telling trustees and district staff that they would be hearing from the labour relations board.

Citing section 54 of the labour relations code, wherein it says “if an employer introduces a measure, policy, practice or change that affects the terms, conditions or security of employment of a significant number of employees to whom a collective agreement applies... the employer must give notice to the trade union... at least 60 days before.. it is to be effected,” Taylor claims the district still has yet to formally notify the union of the layoffs, thus violating the collective agreement.

Taylor was also critical of the board of trustees headance to secretary-treasurer Kim Morris’ recommendation not to attend a meeting that the IUOE had specifically requested trustees attend.

“Who works for who?” she asked, adding that she was “appalled” by the seeming indifference of the trustees.

“If we’d been properly informed, we could have had liason meetings and the timeline would have given the union a couple of months to get together with the board to try and work as a team. Even the mayor should have been thoroughly involved in the process,” said Taylor, saying that the union’s lawyer will be applying to the LRB this week.

“From the district point of view, we have followed the process in the collective agreement,” said Morris.

“We’ve been working hard with the local IUOE over the past six months or so. I think we need to lay out the context. We’ve had declining enrollment for ten years, we’ve just closed two of our elementary schools, we’ve had our funding shortfall so it’s not a mystery why we are where we are at.”

“We’ve got concerns, yes, we’re very concerned about our community and the board is very sensitive to the needs of the students and of our staff,” she continued.
“It’s our intent [to be], and I do believe we have been, as transparent as possible,” said superintendent Eric Mercer, noting the various stakeholder groups involved in the district visioning process.

“We understand all employee groups are trying to protect their members but it’s easy enough to see that fewer schools and fewer students means fewer staff but it was not an easy decision.”
“The board has been faced with many tough decisions this year,” added Morris.
More concerns also recently circulated for the special needs children who would be left without care workers in the fall due to an incomplete hiring process and no hiring during the summer, as per the collective agreement.

“We’ve been in the staffing process since May and we haven’t been able to complete that because we’ve been in discussion with the union. I want the public to rest assured that we do have people available through the callout process, and although they might not be the workers who will be with [the children] all year, they will not be alone come September. And we will be doing the best we can to get all positions filled as quickly as we can in the fall, in cooperation with the union.”

Mercer suggests that the district may have to even recruit for administration, with the announcement of Pineridge principal Daryl Wright accepting a position in the Cowichan Valley.
“Vice principal at Roosevelt Kathy Dann will be put into the principalship [at Pineridge] but we will be shy administrators,” said Mercer.

Schools out but staffing challenges begin

School District 52 officials won't have much in the way of a summer vacation as the District makes its final arrangements to eliminate a number of teaching and support positions across the city.

However, when it comes to administration, the School District seems to have filled out its line up card for September as the final bells echo from last week.

The Daily News outlined who is moving where and what administrative moves have been made to take on the challenges of September.

School district firms up staffing plans
BY KRIS SCHUMACHER
The Daily News
Friday, June 27, 2008

Pages one and three

With the school year officially over as of yesterday afternoon, senior staff at School District 52 can focus all of their attention on preparing for what is surely going to be a challenging new school year for everyone in the school district.

With Director of Instruction Bill Ford leaving Prince Rupert to take the same position in Kootenay Columbia School District 20 (the very district Secretary Treasurer Kim Morris recently moved from), former Port Edward Elementary School Principal Leah Robinson has taken on the new role of Assistant Superintendent.

The role that Ford previously held was large enough that he was performing tasks well outside of the understood duties of a Director of Instruction, and therefore an Assistant Superintendent position was created in order to better reflect the work necessary in the district, said the school district.

Super-intendent of Schools Eric Mercer also announced the finalized administration lineup for the upcoming school year, which includes changes from those previously announced in April.
With Kanata now closed, former Principal Debb Taylor will be assuming the role of principal at Lax Kxeen, and Sandy Pond will move from the position of vice principal at the Kaien Island Alternate School and become the principal of Port Edward.

Westview Principal Andree Michaud, who was previously slated to be moved, will instead remain at Westview. There was some backlash from the community over the prior plan for Michaud to be moved to Lax Kxeen, as it was argued that moving a fluent French-speaking principal from the school with the French Immersion program and replacing her with an administrator who may not be as fluent did not make sense.

Mercer said that an understanding of a natural rotation of administrators in the school district exists, but agreed that keeping Michaud at Westview does work out well.

Susan Kobza will be the new principal at Roosevelt, and Kathy Dann will remain the vice principal. Steve Riley, the long-time Roosevelt principal is taking on the role of principal of the re-vamped Kaien Island Alternate School, the new site for which is close to being decided, says the district.

Darrell Wright will remain principal of Pineridge Elementary, which should be fully restored from the smoke damage it incurred due to a fire in the staff room kitchen by the start of the new school year.

Conrad will have Marcy VanKoughnett and Judy Zacharias as principal and vice principal respectively.

As reported in April, both Charles Hays Secondary and Prince Rupert Senior Secondary schools will keep their current principals and vice principals.

Mercer said he is very optimistic about the shuffling of administration staff for the 2008-09 school year, but pointed out that administration positions are still subject to change because the plan for next year is being further developed and unfolded.

"Leah is very knowledgeable of our Achievement Plan and has worked very closely with it, so we don't see that as being a hurdle for her at all," said Mercer.

"Human Resources remains a growing issue for our district as teachers age, which you can see by the numbers of the latest retirements in the district.

"So, we clearly understand what's in front of us."

Three of the district's senior staff will work during the summer on meeting the many deadlines set by the Ministry of Education for achievement contracts, and on preparing for the scheduled district review that will be happening this fall. Getting the district Alternate School program logistics finalized will also keep the staff busy through the end of August.

Pineridge students scatter to schools across the city

The recent fire at Pineridge elementary has proven to be more serious than first thought, as the three day holiday from classes has turned into a mass migration to the remaining west and east side schools.

Air quality concerns at Pineridge have forced School District 52 to relocate students of all seven grades to various schools around the district, making for a disruptive end to the school year for the west side school students.

Bus scheduling, classroom allocation and parental contact were all high on the agenda of last week with the anticipation of classes resuming on Tuesday.

The Daily News had many of the details of the forced cross city exchange as a front page story in Monday’s paper.

PINERIDGE FIRE FORCES KIDS TO NEIGHBOURING SCHOOLS
Student’s must finish their studies at Lax Keen, Westview and Roosevelt
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Monday, April 28, 2008
Pages one and three

Pineridge Elementary was eerily quiet on Friday as teachers finished packing their classrooms and School District employees arrived to begin the process of moving nine classrooms across the city.

The hasty arrangements were necessary after it was announced late Thursday that Pineridge will close its doors for the remainder of the school year due to air quality concerns following a staffroom fire on Tuesday.

Although the fire department was able to contain the blaze and extinguish it quickly, smoke spread through the building's ceiling cavity and was sucked up by the heating and ventilaiton system and distributed into all of the school's classrooms making the school unusable for the time being.

School District 52 has responded by putting together a plan that will move students and teachers to other elementary schools.

Four divisions of Grade 5, 6 and 7 students will be relocated to Westview; two classrooms of Grade 2, 3 and 4 students will move into Lax Kxeen; and Pineridge's three classes of Kindergarten to Grade 2 students will find themselves at Roosevelt for the remainder of the school year.

Teachers were working diligently last week to have their classroom materials packed at Pineridge, and since Friday afternoon have been preparing their new classrooms for students to arrive on Tuesday morning ready to learn. Pineridge Principal Darrel Wright said he was unsure what his role will be for the rest of the school year, but he said his only real concern was ensuring his students and their families were aware of everything that was happening and that their relocation goes smoothly as possible.

On Friday, Wright said he and school staff had made phone calls to all Pineridge parents alerting them to the situation and informing them of the plan, and he said he would be calling all families again on Monday.

A meeting was also schedule for Friday evening at 7 p.m. in the Charles Hays Secondary School Multi-Purpose Room, where Wright planned to explain the course of action that was being taken to parents; including busing plans, timelines, and how all the decisions were made.

"The staff at the receiving schools have been exceptional and very welcoming," said Bill Ford, the director of instruction for School District 52.

"This is a time when our school district really does us proud. They come together, are very supportive, and nothing has been a problem. The same goes for the staff at Pineridge who have been just awesome.

"They've hunkered down and done what they needed to do to get this move done, and really made lemonade out of lemons."

Changes breed controversy at the School District

"The school district management team is out of touch in regards to the support students in our community need to succeed in school and beyond," Joanna Larson, President of PRDTU

A number of moves announced by School District 52 this week have the local union, community groups and individuals concerned about the direction of the School District, when it comes to implementing its new blueprint for education.

The most pressing issue for the Prince Rupert District Teachers Union is the plan for layoffs stemming from the consolidation of two east side schools for next year, what has the PRDTU particularly upset is that while their members will bear the brunt of the number crunch, the school district has actually created more management positions in order to guide its revised programs into the next school year.

Another concern of the teachers union is that while needs of special educations students will increase in the next year, nothing has been done to improve the actual staffing situation in the district's special needs classrooms.

That was a theme picked up by the region's MLA, Gary Coons who pointed to a recent vulnerability study conducted that showed Prince Rupert rating high in vulnerability for students when compared to other regions of the province.

All of the details of the pending administrative changes as well as the reaction from stakeholders can be found in the front page story of the Wednesday edition of the Daily News...

TEACHERS SLAM 'TOP-HEAVY' SCHOOL DISTRICT AFTER CHANGES

Additional principal jobs are created despite the closure of local schools
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Pages one and three

School District 52 recently announced the next series of changes that will be made to the education system in Prince Rupert, changes that have several stakeholders shaking their heads in disbelief.

As part of the educational revamping, the Kaien Island Alternate Program will be moved from the Friendship House and two additional administrative positions will be created, a move district staff says acknowledges the need for succession planning because competition for qualified administrators and teachers has been problematic for most districts in the province.

"This is a lengthy, multi-year process with the ultimate goal of delivering the best education we can to students," said Eric Mercer, superintendent of schools.

"In recognition of that, we need to ensure the right resources are in place to support student needs while we make this vital transformation. Any organization's strength is in its people, and we need to ensure we keep the dedicated professionals we have as well as attract new ones to our community. If we don't do this, we cannot give kids access to the opportunities they deserve."

For the coming 2008-09 school year, Steve Riley, currently at Roosevelt, will be the new principal of the relocated Kaien Island Alternate program. Current Seal Cove Principal Susan Kobza will take over as principal of Roosevelt Park along with a new vice principal: Sandy Pond. Marcy Van Koughnett will be principal of Conrad with Judy Zacharias as vice principal, and Shelley Parks will remain principal at Lax Kxeen with Kathy Dann as vice principal. Darrell Wright will continue as principal of Pineridge, and Deb Taylor will assume the role as principal of Port Edward.

Things will remain unchanged at Charles Hays and Prince Rupert secondary schools, with all principals and vice principals staying in their current roles.

Leah Robinson will become the new District Principal for Achievement, joining District Principal of Special Education Linda Hikida and District Principal of Aboriginal Education Debbie Leighton-Stephens.

Prince Rupert District Teacher's Union President Joanna Larson is furious that while teachers and support staff will suffer numerous lay-offs, more administrative positions have been created and nothing has been done to address the surplus of special needs students in classrooms.
"The school district management team is out of touch in regards to the support students in our community need to succeed in school and beyond," said Larson.

"Teachers need the number of special needs students in their classrooms reduced so that they can adequately meet the needs of these students and their peers in the classroom. Increasing an already top-heavy system is not how we will improve student success and opportunities in our district."

Larson points to Bill 33 legislation stating there should be no more than three special needs students per class, but says the district management team is planning on approximately five such students in each classroom this coming school year.

"Together with the recent recommendation to close Seal Cove Elementary School, which is located in one the most vulnerable regions in the province, this shows a complete lack of intent when it comes to addressing the needs of our city's most vulnerable students," said Larson.
North Coast MLA Gary Coons shares Larson's concerns about the recently announced changes, and says buzz words such as "educational renewal," "transformation" and "re-engineering" don't have anything behind them in terms of what's needed in Prince Rupert classrooms - support for students who really need it.

"Any increase in administration will not help morale in a district that holds the distinction of EDI scores that show over 48 per cent of our children are not ready to enter kindergarten," said Coons. "And our student vulnerability has increased since 2003. The cutting of any frontline workers, be they child care workers, school aides, secretaries or teachers, will not be to the benefit of supporting that child who really needs help in their classroom. Especially since our district has the third-highest level of vulnerability in the province."

District senior staff say that the changes recognize the resources required to meet the province's expanded mandate for schools, and the administrative staff changes will be reviewed once the senior administration recommendations are complete. Other than the cost of changing the alternate program, the district says costs to fund changes are negligible and will come from the district's operating budget and not from the saving that resulted from school closures. The school district is also working to present more information on the transition of students and staff from the soon-to-close Kanata and Seal Cove schools later this month, including information on busing options in the newly drawn catchment areas.

School District 52 works on plan to ease transition from closed schools

Hoping to ease some of the trauma of recently announced school closures on the east side of the city, School District 52 is working out a plan to aid in the transition for students, parents and teachers.

The School District is working on a redrawing of the catchment areas for the schools that will remain open and want to have that information provided to parents and students as soon as possible.

They will be dedicating their efforts to try and make the changes and transition as smooth as possible over the rest of the school year and on to the start of the year in September.

The Daily News featured the details of the road ahead for all with a front page story in Monday's paper.

PARENTS URGED TO HELP MAKE SCHOOL TRANSITION SMOOTH

School district is making plans for closure of Kanata and Seal Cove
By Kris Schumacher
The Daily News
Monday, March 17, 2008

Page one

Following the decision to close Seal Cove and Kanata elementary schools, staff at School District 52 are now putting together a plan that will help students, their families and educators transition to new facilities.

The district has begun work to on redrawing the catchment areas on the eastside of the city, and staff will notify affected families as soon as the process is complete. It is expected to take until the end of March to draw up the new boundaries - then parents will have until April 11 to deal with enrollment for the 2008-09 school year.

"Our team will be working diligently over spring break to redraw catchment areas," said Eric Mercer, superintendent of schools. "People can expect this information to be sent through the schools, on the school district's web site and in local media as soon as it is available."

At last week's school board meeting, the district also affirmed its commitment to develop a formal transition plan that will include celebrations of the contributions of the schools that are being closed, welcoming events for new students and parents at receiving schools and the closing and transition of the Parent Advisory Councils.

"Parents need to be reminded that their children will react according to how their parents react," said Mercer.

"We all need to focus on making this transition as smooth as possible."

Students and staff at Seal Cove and Kanata were notified of the decision to close their buildings by Mercer and Board Chair Tina Last during special assemblies last Wednesday where they answered questions from staff and students. Last said that during coming months, the board will be fully committed to ensuring a sense of belonging and safety of its students, as well as honouring the memories and emotions packed into every classroom.

"This isn't the ending, this is a beginning," said Last.

"I have absolute conviction you can take any child to any school in this district and they will be embraced. We will have to be as supportive as humanly possible to the transition and ensure that transition goes as smooth as possible."