As cold and flu season approaches, 18 Greater Victoria elementary schools don't have a full-time custodian
Kids are back at school, bringing germs into the classroom with them — and teachers in Greater Victoria worry there's a lack of custodians to keep their schools properly clean.
“It’s really concerning for teachers when their classrooms need to be cleaned and there’s nobody there -- and not just classrooms but the bathrooms,” said Ilda Turcotte, president of the Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association.
She said a lack of custodians last year led to instances of vomit not getting cleaned up for hours at schools. “Things sat for most of the day, until somebody could come and clean,” said Turcotte on Thursday.
Turcotte also said with cold and flu season right around the corner, along with COVID cases rising, a lack of cleaning staff for desks and other surfaces is a concern.
After pressure last year -- the Greater Victoria School District hired five additional custodians for this year.
The district is still at least nine custodians short of what they had a couple years ago, when all schools in Greater Victoria had a full-time custodian during the day.
SD 61 confirms that it has 18 schools -- all smaller elementary schools, including James Bay School — that don’t have a full-time custodian during the day.
Declining funding has meant there are three fewer custodians in the district now than there were five years ago, and 12 less than there were in 2010 — even though there are more students and more spaces to clean at the schools.
In a statement to CTV News, B.C.’s education minister, Rachna Singh, attributed the shortage of custodians to the ongoing labour shortage, telling CTV "a tight labour market is a reality for many sectors throughout B.C. We are actively working to support school districts in their recruitment of qualified staff including custodians.”
The real problem, according to the district and teachers, is a lack of funding from the province.
“If there was enough money to go around to address all of the shortfalls and all of the needs of the schools, we wouldn’t be in situations like this,” said Turcotte.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Blaine Higgs 'furious' over sexual education presentation
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has shared his anger on social media over a presentation in at least four high schools.
This type of screen time has the worst effect on kids: experts
According to some experts, there is one type of screen time that is continuously excessive, and it's having a severe effect on our children.
Grayson Murray's parents say the two-time PGA Tour winner died of suicide
Grayson Murray's parents said Sunday their 30-year-old son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from a PGA Tour event.
Some birds may use 'mental time travel,' study finds
Real quick — what did you have for lunch yesterday? Were you with anyone? Where were you? Can you picture the scene? The ability to remember things that happened to you in the past, especially to go back and recall little incidental details, is a hallmark of what psychologists call episodic memory — and new research indicates that it’s an ability humans may share with birds called Eurasian jays.
Trump confronts repeated boos during raucous Libertarian convention speech
Donald Trump was booed repeatedly while addressing Saturday night’s Libertarian Party National Convention.
Driver, 18, gets $3,000 ticket, 32 demerit points after speeding on Laval boulevard
A young driver received a hefty fine from Laval police after they say he was driving nearly 100 km/h over the posted speed limit.
Indianapolis 500 delayed as strong storm forces fans to evacuate Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The start of the Indianapolis 500 was delayed as a strong storm pushed through the area Sunday, forcing Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials to evacuate about 125,000 fans who had already arrived for "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing."
Hamas rocket attack from Gaza sets off air raid sirens in Tel Aviv for the first time in months
Hamas fired a barrage of rockets from Gaza that set off air raid sirens as far away as Tel Aviv for the first time in months on Sunday in a show of resilience more than seven months into Israel's massive air, sea and ground offensive.
At least 13 dead in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after severe weather roars across region
Powerful storms killed at least 13 people and left a wide trail of destruction Sunday across Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas after obliterating homes and destroying a truck stop where dozens sought shelter in a restroom during the latest deadly weather to strike the central U.S.