Schools across British Columbia have been calling attention to the provincial teacher shortage for years. The provincial government has allocated federal funding to Major Capital Funding Projects for school districts across BC which began in June 2023.

School district 54 services schools in the communities of Witset, Smithers, Telkwa, Quick and Houston. None of those schools have received capital funding, as School Board Trustee Mike McDiarmid says that while they are experiencing a teacher and support staff shortage, they are remaining positive about the future for classrooms in SD54.

"We have increased our recruitment efforts. You know, we're really recruiting across the country and we have for several years,"  McDiarmid told CICK. "You know, we've just implemented some signing bonus money that the province has approved for us [which] started this summer in August. We're hopeful that it will help in the long term. And, of course, we're working with the government around finding ways to enhance teacher recruitment in the North in general."

This school year began today, September 5th in SD54 and across the province.

Listen to the full interview below: