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Richmond schools hire teachers, custodians with federal funding
By Hannah Scott (Local Journalism Initiative reporter) and Lorraine Graves
Published 4:27 PDT, Tue September 15, 2020
Last Updated: 2:13 PDT, Wed May 12, 2021
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Richmond schools superintendent Scott Robinson said today the district will use its share of federal COVID-19 education funding to hire more teachers and custodians.
Richmond will spend $7 million from the $242 million directed to BC to hire 35 additional teachers and 45 full-time custodial staff. In all, the $2 billion fund is helping with extra education costs across Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Robinson also noted it’s a challenge to find enough teachers to fill vacancies. And the wildfire smoke permeating BC air makes it more challenging to gauge how many students will be attending school in order to finalize staffing needs.
“We hit a bit of a bump in the road yesterday with air quality,” said Robinson.
Federal funding is also being used to offer a transitional learning program for Grade 8 and 9 students. It will also help with the purchase of technology to support students learning remotely, as well as supplementing outdoor learning and other resources.