HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-12-06, Page 9THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2000. PAGE 9.
High school teachers, board ratify agreement
By Stew Slater
Special to The Citizen
By an extremely slim majority of
just 52 per cent, high school teachers
of the Avon Maitland District School
Board ratified a one-year collective
agreement on Tuesday, Nov. 28.
Voting just hours before the con
tract was to be approved by the
board’s trustees, members of District
8 of the Ontario Secondary School
Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) com
pleted what district president Bill
Huzar described as “a very close
vote. The closest one I’ve seen in my
experience as a negotiator.”
Asked to explain the high level of
rejection for the settlement, Huzar
said both money and working condi
tions were factors. However, pressed
on the issue, he admitted that work
load — as dictated under provisions
of the provincial government’s Bill
74 — was the major area where nei
ther negotiating team had any lee
way, and remains a significant con
cern to teachers. “The amount of
work that the teachers are faced with
is not going to be affected by this
deal,” the union president said. “I
think the vote reflected that frustra
tion and that dissatisfaction.”
Bill 74 came into law last spring,
but didn’t actually affect classrooms
until September, 2000, when an
increase in instructional time trans
lated into an extra class for most
New gym part of
Continued from page 1
perhaps including the construction of
a new, full-sized gym. Physical
activities could relocate to nearby
community-based facilities while a
new gym is built, she added.
Doig told trustees that a new gym
would become part of the Success
Foundation’s long-term goal of
attracting more students to Seaforth
schools, to insure the continued via
bility of SDHS.
She also invited the board’s inter
est in other student-attracting initia
tives already suggested by her group,
including a possible outreach pro
gram for students hoping to enter the
University of Guelph’s agricultural
faculties, and a pilot project for plac
ing Grades 7 and 8 students in a high
school setting.
The final request of the presenta
tion, however, was directed towards
Armstrong, asking her to put forward
a motion ending short-term repair
Ontario high school teachers. As a
result, most teachers have not com
mitted to volunteering as extracur
ricular supervisors, as they did in the
past, leaving most high schools with
a scarcity or absence of after-school
activities.
Indeed, at the Nov. 28 board meet
ing, a parent representative from
Central Huron Secondary School
(CHSS) made a formal presentation
to trustees, informing them about
efforts by parents to alleviate what
he called reduced service levels at
the Clinton-based school. Ken
McCowan, chair of the CHSS school
council, warned trustees that, if
extra-curricular supervision does not
return as part of the high school
experience, parents will eventually
demand a corresponding reduction
in their taxation levels.
In response, Trustee Atje Tuyten
pointed to a newly-drafted letter,
jointly signed by Huzar and Board
Chair Wendy Anderson, to be sent to
Education Minister Janet Ecker.
Tuyten described the letter as proof
both the board and teachers are seri
ous about addressing the extra-cur
ricular issue.
According to an OSSTF media
release, provisions of the new Avon
Maitland deal “will help teachers
cope with the increased workload by
restricting on-calls and supervisions
and setting class size and pupil con
tact limits.”
long-term goal
work and putting in place an ad hoc
committee to study the feasibility of
building a new gym.
“This is an opportunity to plan for
the future,” Doig said.
But Armstrong, who didn’t seek
re-election in the recent municipal
election, refused, saying she was
“not prepared to make any motion
that would tie the hands of the future
board on any matter.”
Armstrong told Doig she didn’t
believe any work would be done in
the coming weeks, and that no work
would be carried out until the board
receives information about the state
of the floor.
By then she suggested, the new
slate of trustees would be
in place.
Armstrong will be replaced in her
trusteeship by Seaforth resident
Charles Smith, who was one of the
original driving forces behind the
Student Success Foundation.
That means the burden of full-time
teachers in the board will be less
ened somewhat thanks to a decrease
in in-school non-teaching responsi
bilities. However, the release con
tinues, “until such time as the
provincial government. . . addresses
the problems created by the
increased workload, it will not be
‘business as usual’.”
And Huzar predicted the scaled-
back situation with extracurricular
activities will also remain the same
until provincial changes are made.
He noted that the Huron-Perth
Athletic Association, which governs
and organizes sports competition
amongst high schools in the two
counties, decided last week not to
schedule regular season competition
for winter-time sports.
Still, both Huzar and board offi
cials expressed pleasure in the two
sides’ ability to reach the deal, which
includes an initial three per cent
raise, to be followed by an addition
al 1.95 per cent jump on the final pay
period of June, 2001.
“I’m very proud to say that the
Avon Maitland District School
Board is one of the few boards in
Ontario which has, so far, been able
to reach deals with both its elemen
tary and secondary teachers this year
without a disruption to the education
of students,” said Avon Maitland
Director of Education Lome
Rachlis. He also praised the board’s
chief negotiator, Jeanne Dione.
And, despite the long negotiating
process, Huzar was confident that
Avon Maitland high school teachers
remain on good terms with the
board. “We’re not enemies. We’re
not in competition,” he said. “We
may not see eye to eye on every
issue, but our goals are the same.
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Omission
The stories written for A Young
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29 Citizen, headlined “Alberta band
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