Following a Thursday night vote in which about 86 percent of B.C. teachers accepted a six-year contract, Andy Davidoff (pictured at left), President of the Kootenay Columbia Teachers Union has expressed (by way of a letter to area media outlets) his thanks to those who had supported teachers during the ordeal that lasted about five weeks, on both ends of the summer break.
Davidoff's letter reads as follows:
Dear Editor,
Please accept our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who supported us in “holding the line” for public education in this province.
This has been a difficult time but the challenge to improve our student’s learning conditions was a struggle that was worth fighting for.
It was for the future of public education and our students that we took such a strong and unprecedented stand.
We will continue to be resolute in advocating for additional support for every student that requires it!
We will continue to be resolute in advocating for adequate funding of public education in our province!
We will continue to be resolute in advocating for improvements in our student's learning conditions!
We will continue to be resolute in advocating for justice in the highest courts of our land to return the language that was illegally stripped from our collective agreements to enable us to better support our students.
We will continue to be resolute in advocating for our students.
We look forward to returning to our classrooms...to do what we love…to teach our students.
Again, thank you for your support.
Darrel Ganzert, Board Chair of School District 20, Kootenay Columbia seemed no less relieved to have what looked (pending province-wide ratification) like a done deal. He spoke with the Castlegar News the morning following the teachers' vote.
"We're certainly very pleased. We know the teachers have ratified and our own board has ratified, but it will take all school boards… a majority of them, and I don't see a problem with that.
"But we're very pleased that school is back in session and there's been a collective agreement achieved. We're really looking forward to the next six years, moving forward in a positive way and stressing all of the positive things our school system is able to accomplish, making the changes we need, to improve."