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$8.8 million coming to Cowichan for more teachers

Agreement between teachers and province will see $8.8 million spent in Cowichan Valley school district
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The Cowichan Valley School District is looking at an $8 million infusion for new teachers. (file)

Millions of dollars are coming to the Cowichan Valley School District to cover the cost of new teachers.

In fact, $8.8 million.

The provincial government, forced by a Supreme Court decision to ante up for more teachers in classrooms, has reached an agreement with the BC Teachers’ Federation on how this will be done and has estimated that the cost of implementing the agreement in the Cowichan Valley School District is $8.8 million, according to a release from the school district.

What that means is changes in schools, but school trustees are excited about the idea.

“In September our schools will have smaller class sizes,” says Board of Education Chair Candace Spilsbury.

“This is very exciting. Smaller classes will allow for greater personalization and attention to individual student needs.”

At the moment, according to the district, school board staff and the Cowichan Valley Teachers’ Federation are working closely to ensure that new teachers and resources are smoothly integrated into schools.

In response to the court ruling, which arose because class size and composition requirements were illegally stripped from the teachers’ contracts by the province in 2002, the government is distributing $360 million dollars to school districts to cover the costs associated with the new teachers required to now meet those needs.