FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 3, 2005

Job action by elementary teachers
Work-to-rule job action is scheduled to take effect at elementary schools within the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board (HPEDSB) on Monday, March 7th. The provincial Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) office has directed work-to-rule job action to proceed across all public school boards in Ontario. ETFO has indicated the initial stages of this action will be directed at what ETFO refers to as “administrative duties” in all public school boards and will not impact directly on students.

One issue faced by all boards in Ontario is the demand by ETFO (provincially and locally) for 200 minutes of preparation time for elementary teachers. Currently, HPEDSB provides 160 minutes of preparation time per 5-day cycle, plus an additional 1.5 days for individual teacher work load issues. Provincial funding provides school boards with 136 minutes of preparation time. As a result, school boards view the demand for an increase in preparation time as a provincial issue, and thus the reason for the involvement of the Ministry of Education in negotiations.

“The safety of students is our top priority. The Board will continue to work together with ETFO to find a solution for the benefit of children. We are confident our negotiating team will maintain open lines of communication to try to come to a solution that is acceptable to all parties,” remarks Judy Edgar, Chair of the Board.

Locally, negotiations for a new contract for elementary teachers have been taking place between HPEDSB and ETFO-Hastings-Prince Edward since September 2004. The teachers’ contract expired
August 31, 2004. Provincially, talks have been occurring as well between Minister of Education Gerard Kennedy, provincial ETFO representatives, and representatives from the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) with the intent of creating a multi-year contract effective September 1, 2004. We are hopeful talks at the provincial level will bring about a resolution to the issues.

The Board will continue to pursue solutions to this situation and will monitor very closely the impact of work sanctions on school operations with particular attention to any safety concerns for students and staff.

The Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board has 54 schools serving 18,400 students, employing 1,070 teachers and 705 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
• Chris Salt, Superintendent of Human Resources, (613) 966-1170 or 1 800 267-4350, ext. 2281
• Kerry Donnell, Communications Officer, (613) 966-1170 or 1 800 267-4350, ext. 2354