New details of back school plans to come out later today

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Back to school plans: Parents will learn the details of back to class plans today. The Ministry of Education and the Nanaimo Ladysmith School District have scheduled news conferences this afternoon. We'll bring you the details on our news update at 3 o'clock.

Meanwhile, parents who are educating their children from home say the local school district is not providing information that parents need to make informed choices about alternative schooling. Kirsta Whaley whose children learn from home believes a letter posted by the Nanaimo-Ladysmith School District is misleading. The letter says students have just three options; in-class learning, distributed learning through the district's Island ConnectED program, or homeschooling. Whaley says there are more choices out there.

"I know a lot of people feel like they don't have any options and they're scared to take their kids back to school but they feel there aren't any choices. It disturbs me that people are feeling like they haven't got any choices."—Kirsta Whaley.

Whaley says there are at least four other distributed learning programs that are not mentioned in the letter. District spokesperson Dale Burgos suggests it's not the district's responsibility to explain all the options.

"There are more options, definitely in the community but of course, this was directed to the families of the district whose kids are enrolled in our system already, so not necessarily for all of the people who live in our region."—Dale Burgos.

Meanwhile, schools and school districts across the province will be publishing their detailed back to class plans today. We'll bring you the details on our news update at 3 o'clock.

Layoffs at Vancouver Island University: COVID-19 has also had an effect on workers at Vancouver Island University. 54 employees have been handed layoff notices. Almost all of the 11 BCGEU positions affected are instructors at the University's English Language Center, which has seen a dramatic drop in international students due to travel restrictions. 43 CUPE positions are in food services, the campus store, the print shop and the library. VIU's associate vice president of human resources says with fewer bodies on campus, fewer services are needed.

"The physical isolation and restrictions and the shift to online learning and most of our employees working from home and as a result, a lot of the services that we operate on campus are not currently viable."—Dan VanderSluis.

Dan VanderSluis says the university has offered temporary, casual and short term work, including four COVID Safety Ambassador positions to those affected. It has also struck a deal with Island Health to offer jobs in its food services departments. VanderSluis says laid-off workers have 18 to 24 months worth of recall rights and he says they will be hired back once demand for on-campus services increases.