Alberta school boards troubled by teachers' deal
Despite wage freeze, boards worry they cannot cover cost of agreement
CBC News
Posted: Mar 18, 2013 8:13 PM MT
Last Updated: Mar 19, 2013 1:20 PM MT
Alberta's school boards are having a hard time deciding whether to endorse the province's tentative contract with teachers.
School board officials met in Edmonton Monday to pour over details of the deal and its impact on classrooms.
In the end, they decided they needed more time to digest the information.
They're worried the deal, which calls for a three-year wage freeze, could still lead to teacher layoffs and large class sizes.
For example, they say, the agreement caps instruction time, which means if a course requires more time to teach than prescribed, boards will have to free up money elsewhere to staff the extra time.
"Does that mean we have to hire another teacher to fill in the gap?" asked Jacquie Hansens, president of the Alberta School Boards Association . "Or does that mean there is a compromise in the curriculum? Or does that mean if we hire another teacher, we have to charge parents for putting their kids on a buses?
"There's only so much money in our coffers."
The ASBA will make decision on the deal before the end of the week.
The Edmonton public school board will be talking about this further Tuesday. Trustees hope to make a decision then too.
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