Thousands local education workers held signs protesting cuts to education on Wednesday on picket lines at numerous high schools across Guelph and Wellington County.
“There’s not one person here that would rather not be in schools,” said Mark Berardine, unit president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association.
Those on the line included members of the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) and the Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) staff members represented by Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF)
Several cars honked as they drove by to show solidarity with signs that read, ‘no cuts to education,’ ‘on strike for education' and 'keep our schools safe.’
This is the second one-day strike for OSSTF’s District 18. The first one was held on Dec. 4.
“Our membership is very concerned about the cuts coming to education,” said Erin Doupe, a teacher at John F. Ross and an executive member of OSSTF District 18.
“We’re really concerned about the learning environment and the effect that it will have on students. We already lost important support staff positions like library technicians and child and youth workers and psychologists in our board that support our students beyond the classroom.”
Doupe said this time of the year is particularly important because teachers need to help their students prepare for exams rather than take a political stand so the provincial government can understand the importance of education to young people.
“Everybody wants to be in the classroom,” said Doupe.
On Wednesday morning Minister of Education Stephen Lecce announced the government’s plan to offer parents up to $60 per day if strike actions close schools or school-based child care centres.
"Our aim has always been to reach a negotiated settlement that keeps kids in class, which we have done successfully with multiple labour partners to date," said Lecce in a press release.
But those on the front lines said they want to be there for their students.
In response to the government's recent plan, MPP Mike Schreiner said the education minister is trying to change the channel after leaked documents revealed a secret plan to replace in-class instruction with full-time e-learning.
"This cash-back program provides some financial relief to families, but it is a distraction from the heart of this dispute, the reckless cuts to education. What’s most important to parents is the quality of their kids’ education, and I think they will see through this ploy to pit them against teachers. The Minister’s priority should be to reach a fair deal with education workers at the negotiating table rather than driving a wedge between parents and teachers,” said Schreiner in a press release.
Berardine said the WCDSB — which represents four high schools — lost 15 teachers, over 40 classes, a tech teacher, and two courses that were dedicated to kids who were dropping out because they needed the extra help.
“So we graduated 20 kids last year alone from an outreach program where the teacher would pull them in and work on an individualized plan to get them to graduate,” said Berardine about teachers who are left scrambling to make ends meet for their students.
“You take away a teacher, you lose so much. And we lost seven support workers in the board,” said Berardine. “We want to be in our schools, we wanna be with our students. If we don’t fight, it’ll be worse.”
Workers represented by the OSSTF vary between school boards in the province.
In the UGDSB, the OSSTF represents secondary teachers and secondary occasional teachers, educational assistants in both elementary and secondary schools, early childhood educators in elementary schools, office clerical and technical staff in elementary and secondary schools as well as in the board and, finally, student support personnel which includes child/youth workers, social workers and psychological workers in both elementary and secondary schools.
In the WCDSB, OSSTF represents educational assistants, early childhood educators, office/clerical staff, IT staff, professional student services such as youth workers, social workers, speech and language pathologists, psychological associates and board-certified behaviour analysts.
