(file photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Cam Lee

NESD outlines potential disruptions

North East School Division informs parents of potential disruptions

Jan 10, 2024 | 2:00 PM

The North East School Division (NESD) has sent out a notice to parents regarding any potential job action from its teachers.

The Saskatchewan Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee and Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF) have thus far been unable to come to an agreement on a new contract for teachers across the province.

A conciliation board made of representatives from both sides, and an independent chairperson met in December, and once again there was no agreement reached.

NESD sent a letter to parents and posted it on their website about some of the potential effects that teacher job action could have on schools, parents, and students.

“I think it’s really important to the school division that parents are aware of what might be coming up,” explained NESD Director of Education Stacy Lair. “Rest assured that we focus on student safety [and] student well-being, and we are planning for that.”

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Should the teachers choose job action, there could be cancellation of extra-curricular activities, limited noon-hour supervision, and potential half-day or full day teacher strikes that would lead to the temporary closure of schools.

“The [school] board will make decisions based on student safety and well-being,” Lair told northeastNOW. “We want to maintain school continuity as much as we can, but we have to also balance that with student safety. So if any time we can’t maintain safe supervision for our students, then that might result in a temporary school closure.”

Lair said she appreciates the hard work that school administrators do in their duties, as they are in a position of having an obligation through the Education Act to provide a safe environment for students, while also having an obligation to the STF through collective bargaining.

“They work very hard for us to have some contingency planning and some supervision in place when teachers aren’t those supervisors,” Lair explained.

According to Lair, the division staff members will do their best to keep parents informed of any developments in the bargaining process and any potential job action. She said they are aware that parents have a lot on their plate schedule-wise balancing work, child care, and more.

“We’re going to do our very best job in both providing notifications through families as timely as we possibly can,” Lair said, adding that people in the northeast are very good at staying positive in challenging situations like these.

“Both to support our teaching staff as well as our school system as a whole, our community has really come together to do that,” Lair explained. “I have no doubt we will do a good job in navigating through this difficult time together and working together collaboratively in good ways.”

Anyone with questions regarding the developing situation is invited to contact NESD by phone or e-mail. Parents and others can also check the NESD website and social media for any updates.