A two-week spring break could be in the cards for New Westminster schools, but a local union president wants to ensure that any changes won't impact support staff's bottom line.
Local CUPE 409 president Marcel Marsolais said his union, which represents support staff in schools, would want an assurance that all CUPE employees will be guaranteed their earnings, even if there is an extended break.
"Our position has always been, and will continue to be, that no CUPE member goes without pay," Marsolais said. "If the board goes down that road, it would be for other cost-saving measures only."
The district is striking a committee with district staff, union representatives, six parents and two students to weigh in on four options for the district's school calendar. The committee will consider whether to keep the status quo; a two-week spring break; a year-round calendar; and additional district closure. The committee will send two options out for consultation. The board has to send the final decision to the Ministry of Education by March 31.
"Personally, I think it's a sad day for education that we have to shorten the school year and shorten the days of learning. However, there are other districts in the surrounding area that certainly have done so," Marsolais said, adding Burnaby and New Westminster are the only two school districts in Metro Vancouver to not have a two-week spring break.
"We've taken the position, on behalf of the local here, that the final decision lies with the parents, that's where it should stay, not with the employees."
A briefing note from CUPE, which was prepared by John Malcolmson in February 2011, said that in at least four school districts' - Surrey, Delta, Greater Victoria and Vancouver - transition to a two-week break did not involve net loss of work or remuneration for support staff. This is because the local unions in these districts were able to achieve agreements with their respective employers allowing staff to recoup time that might otherwise have been lost through adjustments in work schedules, Malcolmson wrote.
Employers found savings in other ways, such as reductions in funds spent paying for on-call teachers and other casuals, he wrote.
