Latest News

Getting nowhere fast

cartoonThe region has now entered its second week with empty public high school classes, and based on how things are looking, that number could easily stretch into a third week, a fourth, fifth, etc. The issue? Nobody is talking.

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF), the union that represents public high school teachers, has laid out several issues that it says are vital to the profession, including salary and class sizes.

Class sizes have been shown to lead to some academic benefits, according to a joint study from the Canadian Education Association and the University of Toronto. This, of course, is all dependent on the individual teacher.

The same study shows that with more space available in the classroom and, therefore, more room for activities, behavioral problems can be stemmed as well.

However, that same study noted another finding: reducing class sizes is expensive.

This is why the province has re-examined its class size caps, seeing classes that could grow from its current level of 25 (although there is some flexibility, depending on the location of the school). The exact proposed number is not known.

Next up is pay. A new teacher’s salary starts at anywhere between $45,000 and $55,000, depending on qualifications. That number can reach to as high as nearly $95,000 after a decade on the job. Take into account that teachers typically don’t have to work the summer months, many would say that is a pretty sweet deal.

The province has proposed extending the time it takes to reach the plateau of salaries, something the union doesn’t like. And to the province’s credit, you’re not going to find many places that will see your salary nearly double in 10 year’s time.

However, all of this back and forth is, as of press time, only taking place on the pages of this newspaper. There are no talks scheduled between the union and the school board. And for there to be progress – and for teens to return to the classroom – face-to-face talks would be far superior than the ink of a local newspaper.

The school board and the union need to stop pointing fingers and sit down and talk. Sure, it might be ugly to start (as many negotiations can be), but it’s better than nothing.

UA-138363625-1