Richmond's teachers will join 41,000 of their B.C. colleagues on Monday when they walk out on a three-day strike.
The teachers voted overwhelmingly in favour of the all-out strike amid anger over wages, benefits, class size and composition.
Schools in the district will still be open and manned by a skeleton administration staff Monday through Wednesday.
But Richmond's school superintendent, Monica Pamer, is urging parents to make alternative arrangements for their kids during the strike.
Pamer said, while there will be a few staff on the premises, supervising even a small number of students could be difficult.
"Other employees will be there, but there will be no instruction and I would encourage parents to keep their kids somewhere else if they can," said Pamer.
"The front door will be open and we've instructed staff to greet everyone who comes to the door.
"We're getting a letter to the parents drafted right now and getting it translated."
Pamer added that daycares that are offered independently from the school will still be open.
As well as the letter home with the students, the school district will be posting a notice on its website at www.sd38.bc.ca.
The strike vote on Wednesday followed the government's decision this week to introduce legislation - Bill-22 - making strike action illegal during a "cooling-off" period," and bringing in a mediator to find some common ground.
The legislation, however, is not expected to become law until at least another week, affording the teachers the opportunity to squeeze in one three-day walkout.
Richmond Teachers Association president Al Klassen described the teachers' current working conditions to be in "dire straits," leaving them no alternative but to pull their labour.
And he dismissed the introduction of a mediator during the enforced cooling-off period as a complete waste of time, citing the fact the mediator has to work within the government's "net zero wage mandate."
"The cooling off period tells us to go back to work and keep on bargaining," said Klassen.
"But the framework is the same as it was before and it was a frame that we couldn't get the government off.
"We're going to have big, big classes happening all over the place and it's going to be problematic."
The government has agreed to put cash - $30 million this year, rising to $75 million a year in two years' time - into a Learning Improvement Fund (LIF) for classroom support.
"It's nowhere nearly enough to address class composition," said Klassen, pointing to the large number of students requiring support daily.
Education Minister George Abbott said in a news teleconference Thursday he still "believes that having a thoughtful and constructive mediator is a route we have to go down.
"The mediator will be free and independent and will not be getting any advice on what to report."
Abbott added that the cash injection into the LIF fund can be used for a variety of things school districts see fit, such as extra teachers or educational assistants to help deal with a variety of student demands.
It has been acknowledged that the mediator being brought in cannot negotiate the teachers' wages and benefits demands beyond the government's "net zero wage mandate."
However, no one from the ministry could answer whether the mediator will have the ability to negotiate for funds beyond the teachers' wages and benefits demands.
Richmond-Steveston MLA John Yap said he was "disappointed," with the teachers' decision to strike.
Yap said now is the time to start thinking about the students and their parents.
"We've got to think about the impact on the families," said Yap.
"The vast majority of public sector unions have been able to agree with the net zero mandate."
In terms of what the mediator can or cannot achieve, Yap added, "We need to make sure students and families get the certainty they need. Also, union leaders have been asking for this mediator and we've agreed to that.
"I wouldn't want to prejudge the mediator or his or her job. They will have time to work through the issues."
He claimed the government has taken into account the teachers' concerns over burgeoning class sizes, saying that Bill 22 will cap class sizes at 30 for Grades 4-12 (Grades K-3 are already capped; 22 for K and 24 for 1, 2 and 3).
Richmond District Parents Association chair, Byron Stevens, said he believes parents are split down the middle on the whole issue.
"We can 't support education being taken away from the kids, but we'd encourage both parties to sit down and come to an agreement," said Stevens.
"We would agree (class size and composition) needs improved."
Stevens said he's hearing that Richmond's teachers are making more of an effort than colleagues in other districts to minimize the impact on students during the strike.
If the provincial government's legislation is enacted before Wednesday, the BC Teachers Federation (BCTF) said it will consult its members about the next step.
BCTF's leader Susan Lambert said she recognizes the problems the walkout will cause parents.
"We understand that this will cause you concern," she said, stressing the walkout is necessary to stand up to government bullying.
Meanwhile, B.C. students frustrated by the continuing impasse between teachers and their employers are planning a protest of their own in support of their teachers.
An idea that took shape during a chat between friends in a high school theatre class has swelled to a movement of more than 20,000 B.C. students who plan to walk out of school at 2 p.m. Friday, an hour early for the Vancouver district.
The students will converge upon the Vancouver Art Gallery to demonstrate in support of teachers, said organizer Nicole Yu, a Grade 11 student at Windermere secondary in east Vancouver.
"We want the government to negotiate in good faith and respect the process of collective bargaining for all working people instead of legislating agreements/contracts," said a pamphlet posted on the event's Facebook page.
Yu said points of contention for teachers, such as crowded classrooms, also concern students.
"We just want our voices to be heard."
With a file from the Vancouver Sun
