Hitting The Books Once Again

Scott Goodman not quite so happy to be back in class

All the students in the Near North District School Board region returned to class today, following a tentative agreement being reached between the Near North Occasional Teacher Local, Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO) and the Near North District School Board Late Monday afternoon.

By most accounts, everyone was happy to be hitting the books once again.

“The board ratified the agreement last night, it was a memorandum of settlement, and hopefully the Occasional Teachers Bargaining Unit (I believe they meet tonight) will do the same, and the expectation is both of us will have conducted the ratification votes by tomorrow,” states Colin Vickers, Director of Education.

“I'm really pleased and relieved, were all happy that the strike is over” says Jan Heinonen, President of the Local Occasional ETFO.

“We're very pleased with the tentative agreement, and we will be asking our members to approve it at the ratification vote tonight. And were all happy that the schools are back in, the kids are back in class, and my members are back to work.”

As Parents resumed their regular routines that includes dropping off and picking up students, they all stated they were relieved that the dispute was over, as it had caused a great deal of inconvenience.

Brint Forbes says he is delighted to return to the routine of picking up his grandchildren as his family felt the labour dispute in a unique manner.

“My son wasn't very happy, as his boys are in it at the babysitters, both mother and father work, so it was quite an inconvenience for them. And my daughter's family well, she's a teacher, and there's a bit of a conflict in that respect and so I’m pleased to see, I believe, that it worked out.”

Forbes says his daughter is an occasional teacher, and she was very lucky during the dispute, as she was able to teach at the high schools.

“She got a fair amount of time that they are an apparently that didn't affect her part-time teaching. So, she was very lucky in that aspect,” says Forbes.

Scott Goodwin didn’t receive the news of classes returning with quite the same enthusiasm as he was enjoying his extended vacation.

“A little disappointed, you know we were having a good time off, biking around.”

When asked if he was getting bored Goodwin was quick to say no.

“I don't think it could ever happen, kids hate school, so it's always fun to be out. I was biking a lot, hanging out with my friends. We had to do a bit of schoolwork, but it was all right.”

Goodwin’s parents and teachers had a completely different view of the lockout.

“They (parents) didn't like the strike very much because it could affect our year, but we got back sooner than they thought, rather than Fricker or Silver Birches.”

“Our English teacher, he wasn't very pleased at all because he thinks it is a really critical time of the year and wanted to get all of our work done and out of the way.”

The trade off for classes returning when they did was saving his school’s sacred trip.

“We're leaving tonight for the school trip to Québec. We’re leaving at 12 o'clock and were gone for three days, some of the schools are missing out on extracurricular activities, but were not because we got three days earlier than the other schools,” states Goodwin.

Where all the other schools stand for extra curricular activities and end of year dates are still being evaluated.

“There will definitely be a focus on the academic work that needs to be done. In particular, with the EQAO testing coming up, we need to be mindful of that, beyond that we'll take a look at what the requirements are around the various subject areas and programs that we need to finish,” says Vickers.

“As far as the track and field, it's a bit of a challenge because this year, I believe for the first time, we're having a board wide track and field event at the elementary level. So we have to piece it together, a little differently, but working out that so some things may look a well different, but we won't abandon things completely, because as we said the young people want to enjoy those things that extra curricular as well.”

Heinonen credits the end of the lockout to Sandra Pupatello, Minister of Education telling the board Friday that they would have to solve their own problems without the province stepping in.

“When the Minister spoke last week and told the Board very clear that they had to negotiate their way through this, and they could not rely on the ministry to legislate us back and impose binding arbitration.”

“Then the Board heard that and then they came to negotiation process very seriously, that they had to commit themselves to that. So it was a busy weekend, with phone calls and e-mails and faxes flying, and we met with the Board yesterday to finalise the agreement and we are able to sign off in about a quarter after five yesterday afternoon.

“I think the Board has managed in the agreement to control its costs and at the same time, I would suggest that the union is getting some things that they wanted out of the settlement too. So we move ahead,” says Vickers.

As for the mood and relationship between the parties following the labour strife, both sides they will resume to business as usual.

“We understand that the board ratified the tentative agreement last night. Our members will vote tonight, we will be urging them to accept the tentative agreement and that will make it all official. And everything goes back to normal, when we start to work under a new agreement.”

“We simply carry forward and will just go on with our work as we normally would do and we will continue to work with the board just as we only have done,” says Heinonen.

“I sent a note out to all the principles this morning, to stress let's welcome the people back. There's no need to bear grudges, these are human beings, and they had a right to strike an all that,” states Vickers.

“ I find it unfortunate that students where out for sure, but they're good people and they will work with the others who where there before them and will make it work.”

The agreement, if ratified, is good until August 31, 2008.