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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2000-11-08, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2000. School board addresses issue of extracurriculars By Stew Slater Special to The Citizen A partial solution to this year’s scarcity of high school-level extra curricular activities in the Avon Maitland District School Board could lie in the board’s ongoing con tract negotiations with its teachers. It’s a solution which has already been put in place by the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board. Various causes and an equally diverse range of possible solutions for the dilemma were discussed Wednesday, Nov. 1 at what the Avon Maitland board billed as a “stake holders’ meeting” at its Seaforth based offices. The meeting represented the first time since the introduction of a revised student trustee program almost two years ago that non-voting student trustees were given a truly active part in the board’s business. They were provided seats at the table, including time for introductory and concluding remarks, along with several other stakeholder groups. And they made their presence felt, especially Stratford Central Secondary School representative Devin Litt, who entered the discus sion with proposed solutions. It was Litt who first wondered why more secondary-level extra-cur ricular activities are currently being offered in the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board, which oper ates high schools in Clinton and Stratford. He hinted at rumours the In troducing... ({<><> tham 's Canada's finest Gourmet Preserves since 1983 Permanent thanks Brussels Public School Earth Friendly Garden co-ordinators Nanci Ducharme, left and Patricia Clarkson were on hand Monday afternoon to unveil a large plaque at the back of the school honouring all those who had donated in any way to the project. After readings and poems about the garden by several children, the staff, students and parents moved to the front where the gazebo was officially opened. V Mouthwatering products V Uniquely Canadian V No chemical preservatives V No artificial colour or flavour V 18 International award winners Some of our favourites include: • Onion roasted garlic spread • Tangy red pepper jelly • Mango Chutney • Chocolate Supreme sauce with cognac • Sherried cherry & raspberry jam • Cranberry chutney splashed with muscat • Cranberry raspberry sauce with Chardonnay wine • Ontario cherries splashed with brandy • Red Haven peaches splashed with peach schnapps • Bartlett pears splashed with Triple Sec Catholic board had agreed to pay for supply teachers to cover for teach- ers/supervisors when their extracur ricular duties take them away from their classrooms. And it was clear from some other representatives’ comments that cov ering for teachers who aren’t absent, but just performing other duties — what’s called “on-call” teaching — is a bone of contention. “Many teachers will not return as coaches when they know that, if they leave the school, their colleagues, who are already facing increasing workloads, will have to cover for them. And that has put up road blocks,” said Bob Ellison, a St. Marys DCVI teacher and long-time extracurricular coach, who repre sented the Huron-Perth athletics conference at the meeting. Bill Huzar, president of the local District 8 of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), offered a history of the present Conservative government’s actions towards high school teach ers, explaining the introduction of Bill 160 in 1997 forced boards to fill “on-call” duties from within their regular teaching schedule. In an interview following the meeting, Huzar’s second-in-com mand, Ken Robins, said the current lack of teacher involvement in extracurricular activities only arose this year after the latest of the Mike Harris-led changes to high school teacher legislation — the increased instruction time requirements of last spring’s Bill 74. But he called Bill 74 “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” and suggested the process actually began with Bill 160. Contacted following the Avon Maitland meeting, Catholic board Director of Education Gaetan Blanchette confirmed an alternate arrangement for on-calls was part of a collective agreement reached in September, which made the board one of the first in the province to reach a deal with its high school teachers under this year’s tough gov ernment-created negotiation regime. “What we’ve done is we’ve bud geted some money to bring in supply teachers ... to cover for teachers that are away for tournaments or coach ing,” Blanchette explained. He cautioned, however, that extracurricular activities have only partially returned; they’re still not operating at last year’s levels. Neither Huzar nor Avon Maitland Superintendent Bill Gerth, who chaired the stakeholders’ meeting, would comment directly on negotia tions between the board and the OSSTF. But following Litt’s inquiry about on-calls, Gerth acknowledged the issue has come up during the talks, which are set to resume in mid-November. And in an interview following the meeting, Gerth admitted such a com promise is a possibility. But he cau tioned it would be “a significant change in (the board’s) present prior ities.” And he added such a solution would come at a cost, both to the board and to teachers. “The question is whether or not the board will be able to deliver that by taking the money from some where else in the budget, and if the teachers would accept that solution,” Gerth said. For their part, the OSSTF repre sentatives repeatedly stated, during the meeting, that they would prefer a long-term solution to the problem, rather than what Huzar called “band aid” initiatives. He said one long-term answer could be a move to community vol unteers, though he added such a Great for Christmas gift giving ~ we'll make up gift baskets too for any occasion. SCRIMGEOUR'S FOOD MARKET Blyth 523-4551 change would require a full-scale revamping of the infrastructure sur rounding extracurricular activities. Anyway, he said, teachers would prefer a return to their past involve ment. Still, much of the meeting’s dis cussion centred on the possibility of community volunteers. It became clear, however, that there are many roadblocks in that path, including a reluctance of the board’s insurer to fully sanction such arrangements, the existence of board policy requir ing staff supervision, and even stronger similar regulations within such organizations as the larger- scale Western Ontario and all Ontario athletic associations. Robins argued the only suitable long-term solution is a reduction in teacher workload, which can only be achieved through governmental change. Any short-term solutions would allow the government to con vince people no change is needed, he said. Litt was the first to criticize the OSSTF approach, pariicipating in a short one-on-one exchange with Huzar that culminated in the OSSTF president stating, “I don’t have a short-term answer.” And later, in his remarks to close workload._________ Seaforth Medical Clinic 527-1770 FLU VACCINE CLINIC General Public Seaforth Medical Clinic Patients Only ; Wed., Nov. 22 & 29......9 am to 1 pm Thurs., Nov. 23 & 30 ...6 pm to 8 pm Vaccine is available to all persons over 6 months of age free of charge. the meeting, Avon Maitland Director of Education Lome Rachlis said, “Students have a very limited time to be served by these activities, and I don’t think they should be asked to wait until the government and the union conflict is resolved. We can’t wait.” The evening didn’t lack its posi tive moments, however. Exeter based South Huron District High School’s Deb Homuth, speaking on behalf of secondary principals, was particularly constructive. Her sug gestions included inviting teachers to describe what scheduling alterna tives might help them resume extracurricular duties, and hosting information sessions to recruit possi ble community volunteers. And statements by both Rachlis and Gerth hinted that the board may be willing to examine its role in cer tain solutions. Gerth acknowledged that on-calls could be discussed dur ing teacher negotiations, and Rachlis suggested the board could look into another proposed solution — the possibility of turning some extra curricular activities into credit-grant ing portions of the curriculum, there by allowing teachers to participate as part of their regularly-assigned