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School District 27 Board and management to respond to ministry report

Guenther, Wintjes and Futcher will speak to the report tomorrow
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School District 27 Board Chair Tanya Guenther (right) will issue a statement regarding a report to the ministry.

As the school year winds down for the year for students, things only seem to be heating up for teachers, management and Board of Education trustees.

School District 27 management and the board chair are hosting a news conference Friday, May 25 to respond to a ministry report regarding the stormy relationship between the board and the Cariboo Chilcotin Teacher’s Association (CCTA).

The CCTA voiced concerns regarding the board and management to the education minister last year prompting the ministry to step in.

“Earlier this year, the minister had directed education specialist Dianne Turner to meet with staff and other stakeholders regarding the CCTA’s concerns. Ms. Turner submitted her assessment of the concerns to the minister, and, in turn, we were asked to respond by May 31,” SD 27 Board of Education Chair Tanya Guenther said in a statement released during the public board meeting held on May 22 in 100 Mile House.

The Tribune has reached out to the Ministry of Education to obtain a copy of the report.

Guenther, Superintendent Mark Wintjes and Secretary Treasurer Kevin Futcher are scheduled to provide opening statements and then answer questions from the media during the news conference, set for Friday afternoon.

“The response report will provide the minister with information in response to concerns brought to him by the CCTA,” she said.

CCTA president Murray Helmer said members reaffirmed their motion of non-confidence in the board and “senior management” of SD 27 at the CCTA’s AGM last week.

Helmer said a dozen grievances have been referred to arbitration this year over in what they see as “the district’s failure to comply with the contractual class size and composition provisions restored by the Supreme Court of Canada last year.”

The CCTA president acknowledged the ongoing disagreements have taken a toll on “any working relationship the CCTA may have left with district personnel, and are making the task of educating students especially difficult for teachers.”

Helmer believes the report set to be released tomorrow will contain a number of recommendations to address the ongoing issues.

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Angie Mindus

About the Author: Angie Mindus

A desire to travel led me to a full-time photographer position at the Williams Lake Tribune in B.C.’s interior.
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