Education Minister George Abbott issued the following statement Oct. 4, 2011 regarding consultation between government and the BC Teacher's Federation over Bill 28.

"Government has been working with the BCTF toward a negotiated resolution to the issues surrounding the Public Education Flexibility and Choice Act (Bill 28).

"On May 5, I appointed Paul Straszak to consult with the BCTF on government's behalf. He has had five consultation meetings so far, with the last taking place Sept. 9. At that meeting, Mr. Straszak tabled a proposal that included the provision of a Class Organization Fund, which would supplement existing resources, allow school-level planning for vulnerable learners and address complex class organization issues.

"The fund would target classrooms with the highest needs and would be allocated on the basis of input from classroom teachers, BCTF representatives and school administrators. This fund could be used, for example, to provide additional teaching staff or teacher assistants.

"I was disappointed when the BCTF suspended their participation in talks following that proposal. Government strongly believes that teachers need to be involved in finding a solution with respect to the court's decision on Bill 28.

"We continue to honour the consultation process. Yesterday Paul Straszak's team submitted to the BCTF a revised proposal that includes $165 million in funding over a three-year period and $75 million each subsequent year to help teachers in classrooms with challenging class-composition issues.

"Our principle concern is ensuring that school districts have the flexibility to efficiently direct resources to address crucial issues of classroom composition.

"I want to stress how important it is that consultations continue. We have put forth a constructive proposal that I hope will result in thoughtful discussion and ultimately a negotiated resolution. However, this can only happen if both parties continue to work together.

"We have a responsibility to this province's parents and students to resolve this issue in a timely fashion so we can move forward with our shared goal - to lift up B.C.'s great education system and make it exceptional."

Media Contact:

Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Education
250 356-5963