With school about to start next week in the Yukon, staffing shortages and the almost-overflowing F.H. Collins Secondary are on the top school council members’ and teachers’ union reps’ minds.

“This is not normal,” Ted Hupé, the president of the Yukon Association of Education Professionals, told the Star Thursday.

There are currently 22 open teacher positions in the territory, according to the Department of Education, and about 19 other open positions, such as principals and education assistants.

In addition to recruitment problems, F.H. Collins in Riverdale is again near capacity.

And the chair of the school’s council says once-promised modular classrooms will not be delivered this school year.

“When the classes break, the halls are wall-to-wall students,” council chair Sandra Henderson said of the cramped situation at that school.

F.H. Collins was built brand-new and opened in 2016. At the time, Henderson and others said it would eventually not be big enough.

Some teachers the Star spoke to in 2016 said staff members realized the school was being built too small even before construction finished.

Government officials addressed the staffing concerns and gave updates on several initiatives and policies at a press conference held Thursday in Whitehorse.

Flanked by department officials, Education Minister Jeanie McLean presented a summary of the new plans, while deputy minister Mary Cameron and others answered staffing questions.

McLean touted expansions of the Joint Education Action Plan collaborating with First Nations and the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity program, which was updated with more inclusive language and a stronger focus gender identity inclusivity.

“Yukon students have the right to be treated with respect and dignity regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, ancestry, place of origin, ethnicity, citizenship, religion, age or ability,” she said.

McLean also unveiled an expansion of the Ready to Learn program which brings the initiative to eight more Yukon schools. Ready to Learn is aimed at making sure students are in the right mindset for learning.

“As a government, we are committed to building a strong, resilient future by investing in students’ academic needs, their wellness needs, and their cultural needs,” she said.

Liza Manolis, the manager of student support services, calls this initiative a change in philosophy, rather than an educational program.

“It’s a way of viewing development,” Manolis said. “When children are calm and regulated, they are ready to learn.”

Cameron gave details on the staffing issues, striking a positive note in sharing that the department has filled 215 positions so far for this school year, with 41 open spots left.

“This is not a unique situation to this year, this is not a unique situation for the Yukon,” Cameron said. “This is an education system process.”

But Hupé took issue with the idea that this is just part of the process, saying that staffing shortages only began two years ago, and have gotten worse each year until now.

He also disputed that the numbers being given for filled positions are an actual achievement, as those numbers don’t necessarily represent new hires, but could simply be staff moving around within the system.

“In my mind, the word ‘façade’ comes up,” Hupé said.

Cameron did acknowledge staff movement creates other vacancies.

“We might see some of our educators moving into leadership roles,” she said.

“Of course, the numbers go in flux because if you have an educator moving into a leadership role, you’ll then have teacher that’s needed to be recruited.”

During the press conference, officials said they had managed to fill three teacher positions between Aug. 8 and Thursday.

But the overall number of open positions actually went up during that time period, from 40 to 41. While three teacher positions were filled, four more First Nations language teaching positions became available.

“It is easy to mask the actual number of new hires,” Hupé said.

Hupé said the primary reason for the staffing difficulties is to do with housing, and the problem is more acute in rural Yukon than in Whitehorse – which also has its share of housing shortages.

He went on to say he knew of a situation where two teachers were to be hired for rural posts, but when they were unable to find housing, they withdrew.

At the press conference, department officials said the staffing needs were mixed between rural and Whitehorse schools, but did not provide a full breakdown.

“We are on track to have all classrooms with bodies in front of them,” said Yukon schools superintendent Trevor Ratcliff. “We have contingencies in place.”

The problem this brings up for Hupé is that replacing teachers with other school staff is putting an extra burden on them and asking for them to work beyond their remit.

“We’re going to have principals and learning assistants, teachers and staff that are going to be carrying a bigger burden,” he said.

Ultimately, he said, this results in a sub-par education for students.

“Are they able to teach? Are they able to plan lessons?” Hupé asks.

He also says the effect will be the most pronounced for the most vulnerable students. He gave the example of special education teachers being pulled into regular classrooms.

“It’s going to have long-term effects on our children,” he said. “We owe it as a system to our next generation.”

Hupé also had something to say about the situation with F.H. Collins modulars, noting that those who had predicted the school was not large enough have now been proven right.

That situation had drawn the attention of Yukon Party education critic Scott Kent back in April.

During a legislative session, he asked McLean why plans for modulars were retracted, but did not get a conclusive answer.

He knew the modulars were promised in December. “So, I was a bit surprised,” he told the Star yesterday.

When asked at the press conference if modulars are on the way, Cameron responded saying that the school is not yet at capacity, and modular purchases would be looked at “through our five-year capital plan.”

The 2022-2023 five-year capital plan did have $1 million to $2 million in it for modulars this year, but the 2023-2024 version does not have any money allocated for modulars until 2024.

“We were promised two portables last December and the promise was withdrawn last January,” said F.H. Collins school council’s Henderson.

Henderson did say the school is still under its 750-student capacity – by two students.

She added that there is also a wait list for out-of-catchment students.

Because this secondary school was actually built for elementary school students, she said getting anywhere close to full makes for extremely tight quarters.

“When you get above 700, there is not a lot of space,” she said.

The old F.H Collins school, which opened in 1963, could hold 1,000 students, but the current design was used after a larger school design plan was shelved by a Yukon Party government due to the high cost.

The Star asked the government to respond specifically to why modulars are not being ordered for F.H. Collins and to provide the actual number of hires who are new to Yukon schools.

No response was received in time for this afternoon’s publication.

Despite these issues, the Department of Education sought to put the message out to parents that there will be no disruptions to classes.

“What we want to do is assure people that school administrators, principals, are ready to welcome students to the classrooms, and there are plans and contingencies in place if we have any staffing shortages,” said Cassandra Kelly, the assistant deputy minister of schools.