THUNDER BAY -- The Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board’s director of education says the board is determined to staff schools according to both the needs of the school and the system.
Pino Tassone, calling the board a leader in the Ontario school system, said the board already has a system in place that works and was negotiated with the teachers themselves.
The board’s elementary teachers have been in a legal strike position since last June and have been operating on work-to-rule for several months.
“We have achieved this by promoting in all of our schools a balance of both experienced and less experienced teachers – those who serve as role models and mentors for those who bring the latest pedagogical teaching to our schools,” Tassone said in a release issued late on Friday afternoon.
“Our system has benefited from this practice by bringing the best idea from one school to another. We have gained by placing teachers who have the desire to be our leaders, to different divisions and programs across multiple schools.”
Tassone went on to say the staffing model provides opportunities for students at all board schools to participate in the many programs offered.
The Thunder Bay Elementary Unit of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association has rejected the board’s stance and has demanded hiring transparency.
Board chair Bob Hupka said that’s not going to happen.
But not to worry, he added.
“Our parents and our guardians can be confident that our staffing decisions will be based on the needs of the school and the system,” Hupka said. “It is a standard we have agreed to put into the collective agreement against which we can be assessed and judged by arbitrators should our decisions be challenged.”
Local union president Aldo Grillo said teachers want a say in internal transfers and seniority should matter when these decisions are made.
Grillo on Thursday expressed frustration that the latest round of negotiations had gone nowhere and no deal is in sight, with no further talks scheduled. He was also upset the board had rejected binding arbitration.
“Parents should be very upset,” Grillo said in a release.
“The board invited us to the bargaining table and we anticipated a reasonable response from the board. We want a fair resolution to this dispute, but we seem to be the only ones interested in that.”
On Grillo’s first point, Hupka agreed.
“We should all be disappointed that the work-to-rule continues. But we are committed that we will not disappoint our students, those this year and in future years by giving up the balance which has served us so successfully.”
Tassone denied the union claim that no progress had been made during Monday’s talks, saying they’ve agreed the senior management team will not act arbitrarily.
