By Vanessa Ybarra

School District 73 expected to fill more than 70 new teaching positions

Aug 30, 2017 | 5:35 PM

KAMLOOPS — Students can expect to return to less crowded classrooms when school resumes next week.

School District 73 officials have spent the greater part of the summer hiring on new full and part time teachers.

The move comes after the Supreme Court of Canada ordered B.C. class size and composition be returned to 2003 levels.

With less than a week until the kids hit the books, the district says it’s more than ready to meet the new requirements.

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School District 73 officials are on a hiring spree.

“We currently have 46 full time positions and 50 part time positions that we’re looking to fill,” said Rick Kienlein, District Principal of Human Resources for School District 73.

Kienlein says hirings for those positions began in June, with 70 full and part time teachers expected to be brought on by mid September.

“We have enough teachers to fill the positions we’re currently posting,” said Kienlein. “We’re continuing to look for on-call teachers. We have a fairly strong list and we’re always committed to ensuring people have viable employment as teachers on call.”

The hiring spree comes after last year the Supreme Court of Canada ruled B.C. schools class size and composition be returned to 2003 levels.

Since then the district has also hired 90 on-call teachers to ensure it meets the new classroom conditions.

“We’ve had teachers from all over the province and teachers from other provinces that have joined us,” said Kienlein. “We’re anticipating many of those teachers will be in full time positions come September 5th.”

Kienlien says a good portion of recent hirings are graduates from Thompson Rivers University, adding the Supreme Court ruling has helped provide a fast track to full-time employment.

“I think it’s never been a better time to be a young teacher in terms of not having to spend a lot of time on a teacher on-call list before you get a contract.”

Kienlien says the district will likely hire more than two dozen additional teaching positions throughout the school year, with officials of all levels gearing up for a new and improved school year.

“We have very good teachers in our ranks, we’ve always focused on making sure we’re meeting the needs of our students but certainly it can only benefit people to know we have greater support in classrooms.”