The provincial government says it wants to put kids first and get them back in class on time.
The education minister unveiled the plan to play catch-up following two years of interrupted learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes a return to in-person learning, on time, and with all the experiences students need and deserve like sports, clubs and field trips.
“Without disruption to their lives, be it from the negotiations or otherwise, we need these kids to be in school. We know it’s important for their mental and physical health,” said Education Minister Stephen Lecce Monday.
Negotiations for a new contract between the province and several education boards continue with the current deal set to expire on Wednesday, August 31st.
Lecce told reporters that all parties should have one focus during the negotiations, adding “(We need) to hammer out a deal that is good for kids, that keeps them in school, that restores the student experience and that puts them first in our decision making be it as the unions, as school board trustees or as the government.”
The Plan to Catch Up has five key components:
- Getting kids back in classrooms in September, on time, with a full school experience that includes extra-curriculars like clubs, band, and field trips
- New tutoring supports to fill gaps in learning
- Preparing students for the jobs of tomorrow
- Providing more money to build schools and improve education
- Helping students with funding for mental health supports
Lecce promised that schools will stay open to in-person learning, even if the province sees another wave of COVID-19 in the fall.
He also vowed that a deal will get done and that the government will not legislate teachers back to work.
“We have landed deals with every single union in this province, as difficult as it was, we got to the finish line,” he said. “The message (that I have) to the teacher unions and the education workers is you have a willing partner in this government to sit down (and) hammer out a deal that is fair for the workers and is good for the children of this province.”
The opposition NDP and Education Critic Marit Stiles claimed that every last dollar was a re-announcement of the old, inadequate plan.
“This funding wasn’t good enough when the Conservative government announced it months ago, and it’s not good enough today,” Stiles added. “Teachers and education workers volunteer to coach sports or lead clubs because they love their students. The way to ensure they continue to do that volunteer work is by paying them fairly, and investing in lower class sizes and more supports for students.”
Late Monday Acadia News received a statement from Laura Walton, the President of CUPE’s Ontario School Boards Council of Unions (OSBCU):
“In frontline education workers’ negotiations with the government and school board trustees this summer, workers are fighting for what students need in the classroom to succeed and what we need to do our jobs even better – plus what we need to survive with super-high inflation.
“It’s within Doug Ford and Stephen Lecce’s power to avoid more disruption for students this fall by getting a deal done with education workers this August that addresses structural underfunding, understaffing, and unsustainably low wages.
“Our bargaining demands, if met, would fix these systemic problems to meet students’ needs and create good jobs for education workers – twin goals that will benefit all communities throughout the province.”
