HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2015-01-14, Page 7Wednesday, January 14, 2015 • News Record 7
Teacher contracts top priority for AMDSB in 2015
Laura Cudworth
QMI Agency
After close to 15 years as a
trustee on the Avon Maitland
District School Board you
could say Randy Wagler has
had quite an education.
As chair of the board, the
veteran trustee will lead his
colleagues into 2015.
At the very top of the pri-
ority list this coming year is
teacher contracts. The Ele-
mentary Teachers' Federa-
tion of Ontario recently held
a strike vote with 95% in
favour. Union president
Sam Hammond called it a
"powerful message." Pre-
mier Kathleen Wynne sug-
gested it's just part of the
bargaining process.
"That reality of a strike
vote has nothing to do with
our ability to come to a
strong collective agreement,"
Wynne told QMI Agency.
In the same interview she
said there's no money for
public sector wage or benefit
increases.
This is a process Wagler
has been through before. He
is optimistic the central bar-
gaining table will yield posi-
tive results.
"That's a process that's
going to take its course. I
think it will take time. No
one is anticipating a strike,
we are anticipating they will
be able to reach a contract
without any disruption," he
said.
The board will negotiate
directly with the ETFO local
over issues specific to the
board but don't have control
over issues like wages.
As Premier Kathleen
Wynne warns there's no
money for wage increases,
school boards will have to
wait and see how that will
translate in terms of overall
education funding.
"It's always a concern. We
know the province isn't
flush with money. We're in a
good position to deal with
that. We've taken a lot of
steps to be fiscally responsi-
ble," he said.
The board has been care-
ful to spend any one-time
funding from the Ministry of
Education on one-time pro-
jects rather than permanent
programs, Wagler said.
School closures have also
helped the board manage its
space more effectively to
help control costs.
Dwindling enrolment has
been an ongoing problem
for the board. The drop in
pupils swept through ele-
mentary schools and has
now stabilized. That drop in
students is now being felt in
the high schools.
The good news is there are
no accommodation reviews
coming up and no second-
ary schools will close this
year.
The board has been
looking for new ways to
offer a wide breadth of
courses, which is tricky
when there aren't enough
students to fill the class. At
St. Marys DCVI, teachers
That's a process that's going to take its
course. I think it will take time. No one
is anticipating a strike, we are
anticipating they will be able to reach a
contract without any disruption.
— Randy Wagler
have tried out interdisci-
plinary courses to ensure
students can study their
areas of interest while still
filling a classroom.
"We have to meet the chal-
lenge of high quality educa-
tion in those smaller places,"
Wagler said.
To help ease some of the
burden, the board has been
recruiting international stu-
dents in earnest. Those stu-
dents bring in revenue and
there are intangible benefits
as well, Wagler suggested.
Students here are exposed to
other cultures and have had
opportunities to leave Can-
ada. A group went to Ger-
many for example.
One of the school board's
most ambitious projects will
continue into the coming
year. All Grade 7 and 8 stu-
dents will have iPads by next
fall. They will use them right
through their high school.
It's been a bold step and
major shift in how students
are taught in an undeniably
digital world.
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"I think we've got these
challenges but we're doing
great things," Wagler said.
As the year progresses the
board will be updating its
strategic plan to cover the
next four years. Wagler
doesn't expect any big
changes but there will be
some tweaking. The board
will look for community
input late in 2015.
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QMI Agency file photo
Avon Maitland District School Board trustee chair Randy Wagler says that
ironing out contracts with teachers will be a top priority for the board.
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