Fort McMurray wildfire blamed for teacher absences, substitute shortage

School board officials in Fort McMurray are concerned the Maywildfire and itsstressful aftermath have increased the number of teacher absences and drained its pool of substitute teachers.

"There are definitely days when we have exhausted our substitute teacher list," said George McGuigan, superintendent of Fort McMurray Catholic Schools.

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Compared to last year, the number of available substitute teachers hasfallen by 30 per centin Catholic schools and about 40 per cent in public schools.

In December, a lack of substitutesforced one primary school to close itsdoors when a stomach bug afflictedmany of its60 staff members.

As of Sept. 30, the number of students at Fort McMurraypublic schools was down by 270 students, or about four per cent.

Attendance at Catholic schools was down by 400 students or about 6.5 per cent.

The wildfire wreaked havoc on FortMcMurrayand the surrounding communities, prompting one of Canada's largest evacuations. When the 80,000 who fled returned, as many as 2,400 homes were gone.

Schools suspect students from the hardest hit communities haven't returnedbecause their families are waiting to rebuild in the spring or have opted to start new lives elsewhere in Canada.

Stressed staff

Many teachers who lost their homes in the fire returned in September and the school boards said they filled any vacancies.

However, many teachers are struggling to rebuild homes and close insurance claims.

"The stress of going through that certainly has its impact," McGuigan said.

In addition to the wildfire, substitute reserves are also affected by flu outbreaks and maternity leaves.

"We have such a young teaching population in Fort McMurray," said Nancy Ball, president of the Alberta Teachers Association local in Fort McMurray.

Impacting students?

The need to fill teaching positions is having other consequences.

School boards are usingadministrators and speciality staff like counsellorsto teachclasses. Some teachers are sacrificing their course preparation time.

"The counseling sessions get pushed off or whatever they had planned for the day is superseded by classroom teaching," said Phil Meagher, chief deputy superintendent of Fort McMurray Public Schools.

"It's stressful. Things get delayed."

Both the public and Catholic boards are continuing to advertise available substitute teaching positions. In January, public school administrators are making a recruiting trip to eastern Canada.

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