FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2, 2004

New contract for occasional teachers at public board
The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board (HPEDSB) and the Elementary Teachers’ Association of Ontario (ETFO) are pleased to announce that both parties have ratified an agreement for elementary occasional teachers in HPEDSB. This settlement represents approximately 275 elementary occasional teachers for the period September 2002 to August 31, 2004.

Some of the key elements in the agreement include:

• Appropriate training where occasional teachers are expected to complete report cards
• Clarification of benefit and sick leave entitlements for occasional teachers
• Provision of a $2,500 per year joint development fund to look at training requirements
• Additional guidelines on caps for the number of occasional teachers on list
• Establishment of a committee to review the call-out process
• Effective January 1, 2004, a daily rate of 1/194 of 97 percent of ‘Category A1- 0 Years’ of the HPEDSB Elementary Teachers’ Grid
• Provision of the exchange of first morning supervision and noon hour supervision requirements
• Wording clarification of various clauses within the agreement

"I am very pleased that the negotiation team reached this agreement. It will ensure that we have no disruption in the education of our students,” states Judy Edgar, Chair of the Board.

Both Bill Edwards, President of the Hastings and Prince Edward Occasional Teachers’ Local, and Chris Salt, Superintendent of Operations & Human Resources are pleased with the outcome. After eight months of negotiations, the parties went to conciliation last December. By the end of the day, a tentative agreement was reached for recommendation to the respective parties.

The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board has 46 elementary and eight secondary schools serving 18,700 students, employing 1,067 teachers and 775 support staff. 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, (613) 921-3203
• Bill Edwards, President of the Hastings and Prince Edward Occasional Teachers’ Local
  (613) 476-6901
• Chris Salt, Superintendent of Operations & Human Resources, (613) 966-1170, or
  1 800 267-4350, extension 2281