Snowbirds making it difficult for BSD teachers to line up substitutes
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on brandonsun.com
- Read the Brandon Sun E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
*Your next Free Press subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/02/2016 (3865 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Brandon School Division has a bird problem.
Snowbirds, specifically.
Around this time every year, it becomes increasingly difficult for teachers in the division to schedule a day away from the classroom.
At budget deliberations earlier this month, BSD superintendent Donna Michaels quoted a report from Becky Switzer, the division’s director of human resources, identifying about 112 of the division’s substitute teachers as being unavailable in February because they’ve “gone to better climes.”
“More than half of our substitutes are retired teachers. Throughout their whole career, teachers can never, ever take advantage of seat sales because when teachers had holidays, that was exactly when airline prices were are at their max,” BSD board chair Mark Sefton said.
The pinch occurs when the inevitable flu bug works its way through Wheat City schools, often at the same time the replacement teachers are out of town.
“They try to keep enough substitutes in reserve in order to deal with that,” Sefton said. “It’s somewhat of a guessing game because you never know who’s going to be sick and when, and how many people, etcetera, etcetera.
“February is the worst.”
And this February may be especially bad, according to Alison Johnston, president of the Brandon Teachers’ Association.
“I recall that last year in February, it was pretty much the same scenario, although this year the lack of subs seems to have been increased. It seems to have been more prevalent, in my opinion,” she said.
The year’s shortest month is also popular among organizations who host various personal development courses or conferences that take teachers away from their classrooms because it avoids the Christmas and spring break holidays.
Because of the tenuous substitute stockpile, Sefton said the division has to scale back on how many professional development applications get approved through February to make sure sick teachers can secure a sub.
That, trustee Linda Ross pointed out during deliberations, is at least part of the reason the division’s professional development budget is actually underspent.
Last year, $109,000 allocated for professional development remained on the table.
“(A) logjam is the best way to put it,” Sefton said.
Administrators at the BSD weren’t available for comment on Friday.
» tbateman@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @tombatemann