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The kids are back in class, the teachers have filed strike notice and the government says its pockets are as empty as a parent's wallet after a back-to-school excursion to the mall.

While those might seem sufficient elements for a drama, there are other threads to the plot – including the question of how much the province may have to pay to teachers for bringing in legislation nearly a decade ago that the B.C. Supreme Court this year found to be unconstitutional.

For Education Minister George Abbott, the potential fallout from the April court decision may not have the public profile of a teachers' strike.

But the issue could be just as vexing – and potentially expensive.

The British Columbia Teachers' Federation says the legislation, by removing limits on class size and composition, allowed the government to slash millions from the education budget since it was introduced. The union is now calling for that money to be paid back – to the tune of $336-million a year.

Mr. Abbott, for his part, won't hazard an estimate of a potential settlement. But he says the union's demands are unrealistic.

"We do believe we will have to make some investment to resolve that, but we do not believe it appropriate for the [BCTF]to demand $336-million before we even begin talking," Mr. Abbott said on August 31, while making a round of media appearances before classes resumed.

The wrangle dates back to 2002, when the Liberal government brought in legislation designed to overhaul public-sector unions in education and health services.

The fight over health-care legislation, Bill 29, went to the Supreme Court of Canada and, in 2008, the province agreed to pay $85-million in compensation to health-care unions after parts of that legislation were found to be unconstitutional.

Under the April Supreme Court of B.C. decision, the government and the BCTF have 12 months to work out a settlement. If the parties can't come to an agreement, the issue could be pursued to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Meanwhile, labour negotiations appear stalled, with the BCTF sticking to demands for wage increases and other contract changes and the government saying it can't afford to budge from its net-zero position.

"We are in a recession, many of our revenue streams continue to be tenuous … and there are disquieting signs out of the U.S. and Europe that we may not be out of the woods yet," Mr. Abbott said.

The BCTF has said that the first phase of job action means teachers will not perform administrative duties, supervise playgrounds or write report cards and says that students will not see major impacts from the strike.

The teachers' five-year contract expired in June and contract talks began in March, breaking over the summer before resuming in August.

The B.C. Public School Employers' Association say teachers' demands amount to $2.1-billion in compensation improvements, "which is not realistic." The BCTF disputes that figure.

The BCTF maintains teacher salaries in B.C. lag those in other provinces and that education's share of the provincial budget has been steadily shrinking in recent years.

On another education front, the province and education groups, including the BCTF, are talking about the future for the B.C. College of Teachers, the self-regulatory body for teachers in the province.

A 2010 report commissioned by the province found the college was not regarded as credible and independent, that there was not a proper balance between public interest and the interest of members and that the college's governing council "has lost the confidence of the educational community."

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