Ministry of Education investigating non-confidence motion in Cariboo-Chilcotin School District

Nov 29, 2017 | 9:19 AM

KAMLOOPS — B.C.’s Ministry of Education has launched an investigation into allegations School District 27 isn’t complying with last year’s Supreme Court of Canada ruling on class size and composition.

Last week, the Cariboo-Chilcotin Teachers’ Association unanimously passed a motion of non-confidence in the superintendent, secretary-treasurer and school board trustees. The union is alleging financial mismanagement and argues insufficient hires have been made to help benefit students.

“This issue has been brought to my attention and I looked at that and this is not what we want to be happening in school districts,” Education Minister Rob Fleming told CFJC Today. “We need all of our education partners pulling in the same direction. Teachers working closely with the administration, the elected boards, support staff in a school. We’re all part of the same team which is to deliver top quality services to students in our schools.”

To that end, he says he’s had “a conversation” with the board chair, his deputy minister has talked to the superintendent and the Ministry has sent a representative to School District 27 to investigate.

“I’ve asked Dianne Turner to visit the district,” Fleming said. “She will be at the school board meeting tonight (Tuesday), meeting with some of the stakeholders during her time in Williams Lake and she’ll report back to myself and ministry staff about what she thinks some of the differences are in the district and maybe make some suggestions about what course of action might be best to repair relationships and make sure School District 27 is performing to the highest standard possible.”

He says problems in the Cariboo seem to be an anomaly compared to other districts in the province.

“I mean, this is actually an exciting time in education because, for the first time in 16 years, we’re adding significant resources to classrooms to boost the learning outcomes of our school system.”