FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 2, 2003

Public Board and secondary teachers ink deal for three-year agreement
Following the news last week that a tentative agreement had been reached, the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board and local Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) - District 29 are pleased to announce that both parties have ratified the agreement. This settlement brings to a close the three-year agreement through to August 31, 2004 as required by the Ministry of Education.

In April, the parties agreed to amendments for the 2002–2003 school year, and last week they concluded the collective agreement by agreeing to amendments for 2003–2004 including salary increases of 2.6 percent on September 1, 2003 and 1.4 percent on August 31, 2004, bringing the annual A4 maximum salary to $76,014 for teachers with Honours Specialist Qualifications and 11 years of teaching experience.

“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I offer congratulations to the negotiating teams for their diligence in reaching a settlement. When school resumes next year, staff and students can rest assured that negotiations will not interfere with learning and other related school activities,” says Judy Edgar, Chair of the Board.

Bob Cottrell, President, OSSTF - District 29, noted that it has taken the parties two years and five ratification votes to negotiate the current three-year contract. “If the government is really serious about providing stability in public education, it will withdraw its proposal for banning teachers’ strikes and instead, put its energies into implementing the recommendations of the Rozanski report, including a genuine commitment to multi-year funding,” Cottrell concluded.

Other items in the agreement deal with provisions for occasional teachers, retirement dates and establishment of a Benefits Review Committee which, in addition to reviewing benefits, will review the concept of Compassionate Care Leave, and Employment Insurance Top-Up.

Chris Salt, Superintendent of Human Resources and Operations, and the Board’s negotiating team leader indicates, “As is the case with our elementary teachers, in order to attract and retain the best teachers, our teachers’ salaries must be competitive. This A4 maximum is very close to the provincial median.”

The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board has 54 schools serving 18,900 students and employing 1,083 teachers. The Board covers a wide geographical area of 7,221 square kilometres bordered by Maynooth to the north, Deseronto to the east, Prince Edward County to the south, and Quinte West to the west.

For information contact :
• Judy Edgar, Chair of the Board, 921-3203 or 1 800 267-4350, x2354 (to leave a message)
• Bob Cottrell, President, Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation of Ontario - District 29, (613) 968-7003 x23
• Chris Salt, Superintendent of Human Resources and Operations, HPEDSB (613) 966-1170 x2281