Abbotsford school district must do more for teachers cut off from work by floods, union says

The Abbotsford Teachers' Union is giving poor marks to the local school district and itsattempts to help educators whose commutes have been disrupted by flooding.

About 100 teachers in Abbotsford live in neighbouring Chilliwack and can't currently drive to work as highways are closed to most traffic. The district has arranged for charter buses to drive theseteachers to Abbotsford.

But union president Doug Smuland says the busesdon't bring teachers directly to their schools.Instead, they have to make their own wayfrom one of two drop-off points.

Smuland said the bussing means commutes of up to three hours each way. Commutes from Chilliwack to Abbotsford, absent road closures, might normally take 30 to 45 minutes.

"The teachers are not happy with the situation," Smuland said. "It cuts into not only a great deal of their professional time...but also their family hours."

Smuland wants to see Abbotsford schools temporarily staffed just with teachers who live in Abbotsfordand Chilliwack schools staffed with teachers just fromChilliwack,with substitute teachers called on to help.

He said there were discussions over the weekend for such a plan but it didn't come together.

He also suggested putting the teachers living in Chilliwack on paid leave while the floods cut them off from their schools. As of now, he said, any payment for leave would need to be approved and it's not guaranteed that would happen.

The district said it is offering a variety of options to teachers affected by road closures.

The district said those options include five special leave days; virtual learning options; and reimbursement for hotels or other accommodationand meals for teachers who choose to remain in Abbotsford temporarily.

"We've remained committed to finding innovative ways that safely keep our schools open for our students," a statement from the district read.

"We are thankful to our employees who continue to show up every day for our students during these challenging times."

The district said ongoing paid leave could be approved by human resources.