The Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario says it is ready to take job action if it doesn't have contract offers from all school boards in the province by the end of the month.

"We will not accept any more foot-dragging by the boards," said ETFO president David Clegg at a news conference in Toronto.

Clegg said the union that represents 73,000 elementary teachers in Ontario, wants comprehensive offers from the boards tabled by the end of January, "so we can proceed with meaningful discussions."

If that doesn't happen, he said, "we will initiate strike votes. These votes shall be a precursor to job actions," he said. "The deadline [to begin strike votes is] Feb. 13, 2009."

A strike, if it were to happen, could begin in late March.

The teachers in Ontario's public school system have been without a contract since August.

A December deadline set by the provincial government passed without a deal, leaving a much smaller contract offer on the table for the teachers.

The teachers had been offered a four-year, 12 per cent wage raise, but it was reduced to a two-year, four-per-cent package after the deadline passed.

The teachers have always said their main issue is not salaries but a funding gap between elementary and high schools.

Clegg repeated that during his Thursday morning news conference.

"We were prepared to accept taking less salary ... in exchange for that money being used to create 1,500 jobs [for specialist teachers]," he said.

Clegg would not be drawn out on what action the teachers might take if the school boards miss the deadline.

"All of the options in terms of job actions are fully on the table — all options," he said.

With files from the Canadian Press