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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-01-16, Page 4• Lucknow .Sentinel, Wednesday, January 16, 1985—Page 4 Fact finder's report critical of Bruce board of education A fact finder's report concerning negoti- ations between the Bruce County Board of education and its 212 secondary school teachers says the board has "expressed neither desire or willingness to engage i what might be described as a modicum of co-operative effots to achieve harmony and constructive mechanisms which might involve the teachers and the board together in joint efforts to solve the outstanding problems in Bruce County in the education- al sphere". Tom Bastedo, who was chosen by 'the Education Relations Commission to act as fact finder in the negotiations, made his report to the ERC, the teachers and the board on November 27. n his report, Bastedo includes effective period, basic salary schedule, responsibil- ity allowances, allowances for extra , degrees, benefit plans, leave plans, retire- ment gratuity; staffing, timetabling, per- sonnel practice, and seniority and redund- ancy procedures as matters remaining in .dispute. The parties have agreed on purpose, recognition, implementation, group defini- tions, witholding of increments, transfer of staff, method of payment, federation fee, allowances for courses and grievance procedure as issues which . have been agreed upon. Bastedo suggested a salary solution to the salary issue somewhere between the teachers' latest request of 8.25 per cent and the board's last offer of 2.75 per cent, In the eleven boards (Brant, Bruce, Dufferin, Grey, Huron, Middlesek, Oxford, Perth, Simcoe, Waterloo and Wellington) which comprise the traditional comparison group for maximum salaries in Category Four , ihighest • category in terms of remuneration and professional qualifica- tions), the maximum ` paid. to Bruce teachers ranks 10th. Province wide, . Bruce ranked 52nd of 76 boards in 1975-76 and now ranks 67th. , In the past, the teachers have suggested a type of staff allocation committee but the board has been opposed to such a commit- tee. Bastedo said "There is no generaliza- ed way in which the teachersr/'have any input into the education structure of the system in this county, and I'believe it to be obvious that this -is detrimental both- to the pupils and to the taxpayer". While critical of the board's position concerning its labour relations, Bastedo says he doesn't "mean to suggest that the administrators of the board or the board itself are not attempting to offer education of the highest quality to its taxpayers and their. children". He concludes his report by saying ''until there is an attitudinal change on the part of the board, the industrial relations in Bruce County will continue to be characterized by . antogonism on the part of the teachers, paternalism and rigidity on the' part 'of the board and failure to adapt to many of the more productive measures which have been, in place in other boards in this province for many years Teachers want class s• ize discussed at negotiations A ` fact finder's report on negotiations- between the Bruce County • Board of Education and its elementary teachers states there, are • more than the usual number •of matters Outstanding in the. negotiations. This is attributed to the teachers' insistence on dealing with class• • size and the. board's "complete unwilling- ness" to delegate to'any 'lesser body than. the bargaining table any matters of issue . between the parties. As in the report on the secondary school teachers negotiations 'with the' board, Tom Bastedo, the author of the report, criticizes • the board for a lack of co-operation with the teachers.'"This board, while undoubtedly efficient, administers its teachers in a manner which is not now common in this province," Bastedo writes in" his conclu- sion. The teachers' request for . seven per cent increase in salary is difficult to justify, the report •states, but the teachers have • maintained that salaries aren't a major issue in negotiations. The board has • offered to increase all teachers' incomes by two per cent. ��.. Including a section on class size in the collective agreement is also a concern of the teachers: The teachers feel that the average class size in Bruce is excessive and that the average class size results "in the quality of education being imparted to the children to be less' than it otherwise would be". Board of education chairman Mike Snobelen said that the class size issue is a: grey area, saying there is no proof that, smaller classes' result in better education. The county's'pupil-teacher ratio of 19.01 to 1 ranks 69th out of 76 boards in Ontario. The rankings, range from 14.59 to -19.75.. Mr. Snobelen said a lower PTR would mean higher costs to Bruce County tax- • payers: - While' able to understand the board's, stance. Bastedo says -one has difficulty in understanding the refusal to at least deal with . the problem and articulate it in an open committee structure". The report doesn't support the teachers' Recommend late immersion • French Immersion for Grade 7 and 8 students may be available in Huron County schools, After months of study -the Huron County Board of Education's ad hoc committee on French Immersionmade its recommenda- tions at the school board's January meeting. No decision on the recommendations will be made until the board's Feb. 4 meeting. Committee chairman .. Tony McQuail of R.R. 1, I.ucknow, said the committee is pro- posing the hoard establish criteria fora late (Grade 7 and 8) French Immersion pro- gram: The . recommendation was one of six op- tions considered by the committee. Mr. McQuail ;Idmitted that while the recommendations would not satisfy everyone, 70 per cent of the committee sup- ported them. Trustees, as well as five members of the community, are on the com- mittee. The option calls for setting up a late French Immersion program in Goderich, Exeter, Clinton and Wingham. Estimated costs include $12,000 for tex- tbooks, $4,800 for library material and $80,000 for two teaching positions: No con- sideration was given for the amount of pro- vincial grant available which would offset these costs. Mr. MCQuail said French Immersion in Grade 7 and,8 builds on the skills already be- ing used by Huron County students in grade 3 to 6 in Core French. J ".It builds in what the system has already invested," he said. The trustee also said that while costs have been identified, , late immersion could pro- vide access to the French Immersion con- cept in the most cost-effective manner. Mother issue considered by the commit- tee is "universal accessibility" across the county. Instead of just having a French Im- mersion class in Goderich, where the re- quest for such a project- originated, classes could be in other Huron towns: Goderich trustee Dorothy Wallace poked. holes in the committee report noting that the board's gross -cost -only was -included with no consideration of what the board's real cost would be after grant money. "It looks like the worst possible picture was presented," said Mrs. Wallace. Mr. McQuail agreed that the report does make French immersion, in any option, look like an "add-on" subject. It is - an- ticipated though, he said that late immer- sion will not have net costs to the board. Mrs. Wallace also criticized the report for making universal availabilitya prime ,con- cern. "Education acrossthe province is not equal," she said. , The trustee said there is interest for an early French Immersion program in Goderich and just because that interest isn't in other towns doesn't mean Goderich. shouldn't have the program. While Mrs. Wallace did say that French Immersion in Grade 7 and 8 is better than no French Immersion, she wondered aloud if students at that age would take such a pro- gram. "I wonder if the committee took into con- sideration ornsideration that at that agestudents are sub- ject to peer pressure," she said anticipating that "anti -French" sentiment might lead to low enrolment. Mr.McQuail said that would put the debate in the home • instead of having the school board deciding. The other options considered by the com- mittee include early French Immersion as a three-year pilot project Witt the Huron- ' Perth Roman Catholic Separate School Board, a "Goderich only" Kindergarten im- mersion 'program and a Kin 1ergarten to Grade 2 program in the county towns. The school board will' debate and decide the issue on Monday, Feb. 4. wish that a clause be inserted in the agreement binding the board that no current teacher contract will be terminated due to' the introduction of new programs and hiring of staff for those programs. Bastedo does support the establishment of a committee including teachers and the administration, a proposal also endorsed. by the secondary school teachers. Snobelen said the Bruce board has had joint -committees in the past but they have proved to be "less than profitable". 'Snobelen said the biggest advantage of the two fact finder reports is."a little public relations for the teachers". He feels Bas edo didn't complete' his mandate under a section in the Education Act, stating that a fact finder must review_ the availability of the taxpayer to pay for' addional costs. ' The recently acclaimed chairman said the provincial government may provide grants for a five per cent increase in. teachers' -salaries. 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