A B.C. Teachers’ Federation report saying teachers shouldn’t be allowed to choose substitute replacements has a long way to go before it can be enforced, a school district administrator said Wednesday.

According to a collective agreement between the district and Kamloops-Thompson Teachers’ Union, teachers can pick who minds his or her classroom, said assistant superintendent for human resources John Churchley.

If the union wants to make it mandatory for teachers to use a call-out system, then the collective agreement needs to be changed, he said.

A report presented at the BCTF’s annual general meeting says preferential call-out has created resentment, mistrust, frustration and competition among teachers-on-call and should be replaced with a call-out systems based on qualifications and seniority.

The report was prepared by a task force created in 2009 to examine complaints from teachers-on-call who say they've been pushed into poverty by a preferential call-out system.

The report has not been debated within the BCTF. President Irene Lanzinger said the union believes school districts should adopt a seniority-based system that gives all TOCs an opportunity to work.

But she said there is resistance from teachers who prefer to select their own relief.

“There’s still a significant resistance among members,” she said.

Churchley, a former music teacher, said many teachers prefer to have continuity for their students when they are away.

“If it’s someone who is familiar with the classroom, familiar with the kids and qualified for the subject, then that’s what I would rather have,” he said.

Lanzinger believes the subject will be reviewed when the BCTF discusses bargaining topics in the fall, she said.