107th Year - Week 39
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
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MAYOR SHOWDOWN Race for Telkwa mayor heating up.
NEWS/A4
RIDING THE BLUFF Results of annual C.O.B. Upchuck 2&3
SPORTS/B8
John Michael Fullerton (left) and Hannah Booth walk to class with their parents outside Muheim Elementary School on the first day back Monday morning. Hundreds of kids in School District 54 went back to school this week after the BCTF came to an agreement with the provincial government last week.
Back to school
100 YEARS OF SERVICE Quick church celebrates 100 years this Sunday
OUR TOWN/A18
Teachers vote 86% yes to new deal By Tom Fletcher Black Press
INSIDE LETTERS COMMUNITY OUR TOWN SPORTS THREE RIVERS CLASSIFIEDS
A7 A15 A18 B1 C1 C4
Kendra Wong photo
B.C. teachers have voted strongly in favour of ending their strike and returning to work next week. B.C. Teachers’ Federation members voted 86 per cent in favour of a six-year agreement negotiated with the help of mediator Vince Ready this week. About three out of four of the province’s 40,000 teachers voted. “I’m happy with this deal,” said BCTF president Jim Iker. It gives the province’s teachers raises totalling 7.25 per cent over six years, improvements to
benefits and a fund to hire hundreds of new teachers each year. Iker said the turnout for the vote was higher than the union’s last two ratification votes. Education Minister Peter Fassbender congratulated teachers on the settlement, which ends a bitter strike that shut schools for two weeks in June and another three weeks this fall. “We can now focus on the path forward,” Fassbender said. “This long-term agreement is an historic opportunity to work together for students – to enhance their education experience and to support their achievements.”
Premier Christy Clark added her thanks on Twitter. “This is a fair, affordable deal that will let us focus on putting students first,” Clark said. Iker said most school districts will reopen Monday, and the ministry has notified superintendents that the school year will not be extended to make up the days lost to the strike. The finance ministry is preparing to send out compensation of $40 per lost student day to parents of students up to age 12. One-time payments are expected to be sent out in October to eligible Premier Christy Clark and Education Minister parents who registered at Peter Fassbender. bcparentinfo.ca. Black Press photo
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