Spirits were low on the picket lines during what was scheduled to be the first day of school, according to West Vancouver Teachers' Association president Rob Millard.
"I'm looking at two teachers on the picket line in the rain. .. it's a twoteacher family so you can imagine the bite they're taking," he said.
The strike and lockout have cost each teacher an average of $5,000 to $6,000, according to Millard.
Some teachers have been making ends meet by tutoring, which is fine, but advertising on Craigslist and setting up impromptu learning assistance centres undermines the strike, according to Millard.
Those who need it have been receiving aid, according to Millard.
The provincial government seems to operate in election cycles, according to Millard, who said he's been disappointed at the lack of real bargaining taking place.
"Give us a counter-offer or just say no, but don't keep squawking about it in the press."
North Vancouver-Seymour MLA Jane Thornthwaite was unavailable for comment, but a representative said her position on the issue was represented in Education Minister Peter Fassbender's weekend release.
The B.C. Teachers' Federation "stubbornly refused every effort to reach a fair deal," according to Fassbender.
The divide between the two parties is immense, according to Fassbender, who said the BCTF's demands would plunge the province into a deficit.
Legislating teachers back to work would only maintain a dysfunctional relationship, according to Fassbender.
The strike is being felt in classrooms and playing fields.
The Buchanan Bowl, an annual exhibition football game played between Carson Graham and Handsworth, was scheduled for Saturday but is now unlikely, according to coaches for both teams.
There could be more games cancelled if the strike runs into October, according to Gerry Karvelis, athletics co-ordinator for North Shore secondary schools. Tough decisions will have to be made about which age groups get priority, and both football and field hockey might be jeopardized, according to Karvelis.
The intractable impasse between B.C. teachers and the province has been exacerbated by the government's attempt to fight a court battle at the negotiating table, according to a Lynn Valley labour lawyer.
"They don't actually want to get a deal," said Pam Costanzo, a parent and prospective North Vancouver school board candidate.
The B.C. government stripped teachers' right to bargain for class size and composition in 2002. The B.C. Supreme Court judged that move illegal, eventually fining the provincial government $2 million.
More recently, the government included contract clause E80 which - according to the BCTF - would negate any court ruling related to class size and composition.
"That's something that I don't think any union would sign," Costanzo said. "I just can't see them signing something that says: 'We'll suspend our members' Charter rights.'" The government is trying to kill a deal, not to make one, according to Costanzo. "I really think their intention is to try to break the union, to try to bankrupt them," she said.
Kendra Strauss, a labour studies professor at Simon Fraser University, voiced similar concerns over E80.
"Teachers just can't accept that, for what I think are fairly obvious reasons," she said.
Despite news reports focusing on wages, Strauss said class size and composition remain the sticking points. "I think the teachers have actually made some pretty significant concessions on wages but feel very strongly about issues of class size and composition," she said.
The government is offering a $40 daily stipend for parents with children age 12 or under, accessible through bcparentinfo.ca.
That payout raises several questions, according to Strauss.
"If there's no money available for education, why is there money available to pay for a daycare for kids when they should be in school?"
