Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

SCHOOL DISTRICT 73

Kamloops teachers and support staff welcome additional safety measures for back-to-school

Aug 25, 2021 | 4:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — On Tuesday, the province announced its health and safety plan as students, teachers, and staff prepare to head back to school in a couple of weeks. On Wednesday, CFJC Today caught up with the Kamloops Thompson Teachers Association and CUPE Local 3500 to get their reaction to the plan, as the new school year approaches.

With a return to school just around the corner, School District 73 plans to maintain all of the health and safety protocols that were in place last year to combat COVID-19.

“Any of the… cleaning protocols that were put into place last year, in terms of pandemic planning will remain,” SD73 Board of Education Chair Rhonda Kershaw told CFJC Today on Tuesday. “Increased janitorial time during the day, increased cleaning and electrostatic spraying, and especially if we have an exposure — increased cleaning if an exposure occurs.”

The union that represents support staff in SD73 is pleased that the province has a plan as its members prepare to welcome students back into schools this September.

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“As long as the district and the provincial government and BCPSEA [Public Schools Employers Association] make the safety of staff and students paramount, then I think we’re on the right track,” CUPE Local 3500 President Corey Grabner tells CFJC Today.

While Grabner is pleased with the provincial commitment to health and safety, he’s concerned his members will be asked to shoulder the extra load without any additional resources.

“The increased surface cleaning by our custodial staff will have to carry on,” Grabner says. “Hopefully this doesn’t become the new normal, but if it does, there’ll be more funding for increased hours and increased positions.”

The B.C. Teachers Federation had been publicly advocating for a mask mandate across entire school populations ahead of Tuesday’s announcement. Kamloops-Thompson Teachers Federation President Laurel MacPherson says the mask rules for staff and students send the right message.

“We were really happy to see that there was a mask mandate for students in Grades 4 to 12,” MacPherson says. “What we were also encouraged by was that masks are strongly recommended from K to 3. That was welcome news because it’s always easier to pull back on something rather than implement it later in the year.”

MacPherson says mandatory vaccines would be ideal, but notes there will always be exceptions to those kinds of mandates. Those exceptions could be granted for privacy, health or a variety of other reasons.

“The majority of teachers have been vaccinated, so that does provide a level of protection,” MacPherson says. “There’s always those unknowns that we’re wondering about and there’s always the concern that things could change.”