Teachers on Call for Resource Teachers
Motion 6 · Special Board Meeting, April 20, 2026
Summary
- Sought to fund teachers on call (TTOCs) to replace absent resource teachers from their first day of absence, rather than the current practice of replacing on the third day.
- Cost identified at approximately $2.7 million, to come from reductions in divisional superintendent office budgets and other non-instructional areas.
- Supporters argued that gaps in resource teacher coverage disproportionately harm students with diverse learning needs and can eliminate a full week of support when combined with statutory holidays.
- Staff noted TTOCs would need time to familiarize themselves with individual education plans, limiting the effectiveness of short-term replacements.
- Opposition cited the high cost and the specialized, student-specific nature of resource teacher work.
Vote
Public comments
Read all 2 statements
Transcript
18 segments
Are there any comments, Trustee Freecoat? Thank you, Chair. I have a question, actually. Does the resource teacher, from what my understanding is, that they meet with the students on, like, not daily basis, but on a case-by-case situation. So is that true? Or does the resource teachers, if they're absent, they need replacement right away because that's affecting the students So can you can you answer that please. ELLIE WILSON- Sure. I'll ask Allison Ogden.
ELLIE WILSON- Thanks for the question through the chair. Our resource teachers in schools provide a variety of services. I think sort of to your question, they're responding to every student's individual education plan, and those vary across the needs of all students. So there would be small group work, there's push-in support that happen in classrooms, and it's all directed by a student's individual education plan. So those folks coming into our schools would need to familiarize themselves with those individual education plans and get up to speed about how to implement that. Certainly our school-based resource teachers could leave weekly, I would say, detailed plans about how they're working with students, but those would be constantly evolving plans. And I think... A lot of our folks who are sick for a day or two don't necessarily have those very detailed, detailed plans that would provide guidance to somebody. Certainly someone who's gonna be away could prepare that to support the work.
Do you have a follow-up? Go ahead.
Thank you. So if a teacher is absent, a resource teacher is absent and there is a TTOC in place for that, they won't have the full information of those particular cases for those students. Is that correct?
Through the chair, that is correct. They would have to take a bit of time to learn how to do that.
Trustee Chen.
Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Trustee Ma, to bring this up. Very important. Just want to get clarified. For the areas in a project that do not affect direct instruction to students, can Josima propose maybe which area of the project can be used, for example?
I think that work would be done by the Secretary-Treasurer to find these areas. It's really hard when we look at the budget, the way that it's structured, to find out where there are bits and pieces and where the spending comes out of. So for example, for... supporting inclusion, there would be administrative costs that come out of that budget, right? There would be teachers that come out of that budget. There would be resource teachers that come out of that budget. So it's really hard to say this line item, again, the line items that we have been given in the schedules are, they combine a lot of different things. So... I don't, unless we had what's called a divisional budget, which shows line by line where everything is being spent, for example, like toilet paper, like pens and pencils, like all of that stuff, we wouldn't know. I mean, like I wouldn't know because I've never seen a very detailed divisional budget, a line by line item budget. So not having that, I would have to rely on the expertise of the secretary treasurer to find other areas of cost savings.
Just a point of clarification. When you worked with staff on this motion, did they give you other areas or did they provide any? Sorry, would you mind speaking to your microphone?
Okay. Trustee Freedcoat.
Thank you, Chair. So I'm looking at the cost. It's actually $2.6 million. that needs to be covered from what I understand from Alison, that even though there's a TTOC for a resource teacher replacement, they still wouldn't have access to the case for those students. And it would take them time to even understand what the job is. So I don't know where the budget 2.6 million is gonna come from the superintendent office. And also I think it's not directly affecting the students in the class. It is on the case by case, which is individual education plan, IEP. So I will not be supporting this motion. Thank you. Trustee Richardson.
Chair, I will not be supporting this motion, although I believe last year or the year before, I believe Trustee Reddy did bring this similar motion forward and the same information was brought to our attention that frankly, although a teacher's a teacher's a teacher, this work of a resource teacher is very specialized and it's unique to a child. And I think there, I mean, I'm pain, and this was the basis of the thesis that a group of us completed a year ago, the importance of identifying and then dealing with and supporting a student that's struggling. But I would vote against, I'm intending to vote against this. I'm not diminishing the need to support those children. The suggestion that... They don't need support, they certainly do. But I would hope that we could look at maybe a staffing approach that would have a team approach that there is more than one resource teacher that would in fact be familiar. There may be a primary and a secondary contact for a student so that in fact there would be that opportunity to provide support. But at this point, simply substituting a teacher in day one and day two. It's unfortunate and it is something that we should address. But I don't think at this point that this would be a use of an additional 2.6 million against our budget would be appropriate use of funding. But we should look to address this as best we can. And I know we've been struggling with it. for many years, thank you.
Trustee Reddy. Thanks Chair and thanks Trustee Ma for bringing this forward and for outlining how long the issue has been affecting students in the district. I just wanted to highlight a few aspects of the resource teacher replacement issue and recognizing it's a school district choice to replace resource teachers on the first, second or third day of absence you know, what we hear and have heard from parents time and time again and students is that when you add those three days and you have a stat or any other interruption in the week, that could mean a whole week of lost instructional support for students. And that's really about having a qualified adult, a professional sitting beside you while you're going through critical learning material and the difference between you advancing in your academics and not. So it's a really critical choice that districts, can make by replacing the resource teacher earlier than the three days of absence. And I just wanted to highlight an increasing trend is that the pressure is not only felt on the students that lose the support, but the entire classroom of kids who are affected when they don't have the additional supports that are needed for their peers to ensure that learning can take place for everyone. So really appreciate you, Trustee Ma, for bringing this forward. I do think it's a district choice and where we do see it fall out of place is when this shows up in a surplus at the end of the year. So when I look at the amount, I don't think it's far from what we could allocate in order to see the results in higher academic achievement and hopefully not see that in the surplus side of the budget at the end of the fiscal year. So I do support this motion. Thank you.
Are there any other comments before we close? Trustee Richardson.
I just want to clarify, maybe Steph could clarify. The suggestion was that we don't replace after three days. My understanding is we replace after two days. Is that not the case? And I appreciate that one day is too long.
We can clarify. Alison Ogden, would you mind commenting?
Through the chair, my understanding is we replace on the third day.
Thank you. Are there any questions or comments before we move to close? Okay. I just want to make a quick comment in regards to something a trustee just said about the capabilities of our TTOCs. And we hire absolutely incredible educators in this district. And whether they are showing up As a regular teacher or a TTOC, I want to just say how much I support their work and that they are fully capable and incredible humans who are doing great work. And so to suggest that they are not providing adequate educational services because they're showing up as a teacher on call, I completely disagree with. And I felt it necessary to just say that they're doing great work and I support them. Trustee Ma, would you like to close?
Statement Watch
Thank you very much, Chair. And I'm going to pass it over to Patricia McNeil, Director, to give you an update on the engagement. Thank you. Thank you. The engagement summary report included in this evening's package and posted to our website outlines input we received to assist in the board's consideration of the 2026-2027 financial plan. Engagement activities were grounded in our education plan, the framework for enhancing student learning, and follow best practice standards by the International Association of Public Participation, or IAB2. Input was sought from inherent rights holders, stakeholder groups, students, families, staff, and the broader public through a mix of methods and activities. The engagement period was open from January 12th to April 16th and included multiple opportunities such as meetings, workshops, and discussions with inherent rights holders and former stakeholder groups, as well as written submissions to the board, an online survey, which was available publicly and to staff, as well as students, and last week's Committee of the Whole meeting and public delegation meeting. Trustees received a copy of all written submissions on a weekly basis, as well as a copy of survey responses in early March. An interim summary report was available that first week of March as well. The report in your package this evening is an update to that interim report to include information about input and feedback received since early March. Across engagement activities, participants highlighted priorities related to classroom staffing and supports, a focus on student learning and course offerings, as well as schedules, learning resources, student wellbeing and mental health, inclusion and equity, facilities and school or learning environments, as well as supports to student families. It's important to note that priorities raised through this year's engagement reflect patterns that we've heard through previous year's financial planning, and I would be pleased to take any questions trustees may have.
Statement Watch
ELLIE WILSON- Thanks for the question through the chair. Our resource teachers in schools provide a variety of services. I think sort of to your question, they're responding to every student's individual education plan, and those vary across the needs of all students. So there would be small group work, there's push-in support that happen in classrooms, and it's all directed by a student's individual education plan. So those folks coming into our schools would need to familiarize themselves with those individual education plans and get up to speed about how to implement that. Certainly our school-based resource teachers could leave weekly, I would say, detailed plans about how they're working with students, but those would be constantly evolving plans. And I think... A lot of our folks who are sick for a day or two don't necessarily have those very detailed, detailed plans that would provide guidance to somebody. Certainly someone who's gonna be away could prepare that to support the work.
Do you have a follow-up? Go ahead.
Thank you. So if a teacher is absent, a resource teacher is absent and there is a TTOC in place for that, they won't have the full information of those particular cases for those students. Is that correct?
Through the chair, that is correct. They would have to take a bit of time to learn how to do that.