Photo: Castanet

The SD73 board of education has asked the five local MLAs and the B.C. School Trustees Association to support its advocacy efforts to improve recruitment and retention of Certified Education Assistants.

The Kamloops-Thompson Board of Education is hoping to garner provincial support in its efforts to lobby for better working conditions to improve Certified Education Assistant recruitment and retention.

Earlier this year, SD73 said it planned to hire “responsible adults” to cover CEA absences. At the time, it said about 30 to 40 per cent of CEA roles went unfilled in a day due to sick time or approved leave.

The plan was shelved after CUPE 3500, which represents school support workers, called the plan “an attack” on qualified workers and a threat to quality student supports.

SD73 said it then established a committee with CUPE to identify barriers blocking CEA recruitment and retention, and said it would revisit its responsible adult plan.

In letters dated last week, the SD73 board of education asked local MLAs Peter Milobar, Ward Stamer, Tony Luck, Lorne Doerkson and Rosalyn Bird to advocate provincially for higher CEA wages and longer hours, and for more CEAs in schools.

The board also wrote to B.C. School Trustees Association president Tracy Loffler, asking her to join SD73 in its advocacy efforts.

“We invite you to share the best way to continue to advocate with BCSTA to the Ministry of Education and Child Care (MECC), to the British Columbia Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA), and other provincial organizations,” the board said to Loffler.

“This joint advocacy effort is intended to inspire a local and provincial conversation about the experiences of Certified Education Assistants in classrooms to provide insight into what we require provincially and locally as Boards of Education to address common barriers for CEAs to improve recruitment and retention of this employee group.”

When the responsible adults plan was shelved, CUPE 3500 president Dawn Armstrong said the union was “cautiously optimistic” the committee would begin to address the issues it had been raising for years.