91原创 school trustees will put their concerns about overcrowded schools and an increase in students needing help with English to their provincial association this spring.
At the Jan. 30 meeting of the 91原创 school board, trustees put forward the motions that they will present to the next general meeting of the BC School Trustees Association (BCSTA).
Motions that are approved at that gathering are often about lobbying the provincial government on issues that are of interest to many school districts.
Trustee Marnie Wilson led off with several motions, including one about reforming the process of new school construction.
Wilson noted several of the perennial complaints that 91原创 trustees have raised over the building or expansion of schools, including reliance on portables, and the fact that no new school is built until after existing schools are over capacity.
She called for the BCSTA to advocate for reforms to the process.
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Trustee Charlie Fox had a similar motion 鈥� he noted that many broadly similar motions may be consolidated by the BCSTA together into one vote at the meeting. Fox鈥檚 version mentioned the impact Bill 44, which eliminates single-family zoning across much of B.C., may have on enrolment.
In another motion related to rapid growth, Wilson called for the BCSTA to work with the BC Public School Employers Association (BCPSEA) to create new incentives to drew teachers and other key staff to work in schools, to address the ongoing teacher shortages.
Trustee Holly Dickinson, meanwhile, called for targeted grant funding to help districts, like 91原创, dealing with an increasing number of students who are English Language Learners (ELL), noting that there are increasing numbers of students who need those services as Canada鈥檚 immigration rate has increased.
All the motions were approved by the board to be presented to the BCSTA.
The BCSTA鈥檚 annual general meeting will be held April 18-21 in Vancouver.
