153 Teachers Get Layoff Notices

Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Friday, 23 May 2014 15:00
Dozens of teachers in the Vernon District are getting layoff notices this week. Vernon School District superintendent Joe Rogers says the number is 153. "But the majority will get some work next year, maybe not all that they are owed, but because we are up in enrolment next year, depending on how many retire versus how many return from leave, the majority will get some work next year," Rogers tells Kiss FM. Rogers says the projections are for 70 more students in classes this fall. "If that projection is true, we should be up three or four teachers over what we have this year," Rogers adds. Rogers says a layoff recall meeting will be held next week where the impacted teachers will find out about the jobs that are open. Rogers say teachers need to work one semester or five months in the Vernon District to get recall rights, where in Kelowna they have to work 15 months. "So if you work one semester, you are owned some work and that's why the list is so long. Somebody may work one day a week, and then we owe them one day a week if they've done that for the whole year. We have a different collective agreement," says Rogers. Vernon Teachers Association president Heather Malcolm estimates the number at about 200 teachers getting notices. "Last year a majority of the teachers got recalled to a partial position or a full position, I don't know how many are going to get called back this year, " says Malcolm. Malcolm says regardless of the outcome, it's a lot of teachers whose lives have been disrupted for a period of time.