By JULIE BERTRAND
Independent Reporter
The Clearview School Division sent a letter to all parents of students and news outlets on Jan. 25, telling them that the board has serious issues with the Government of Alberta wanting to re-open the teachers’ contract.
The board is concerned that the Government of Alberta is seeking an alternative to giving all teachers an estimated 4.3 percent increase in salaries for the school year starting on Sept. 1, 2011. This would be the final year of a five year contract that started in 2007.
The government is thought to be preparing to make numerous changes to the contract, including putting limits to teacher work hours in addition to cutting education time in exchange for having the Alberta Teachers Association accept a pay freeze.
According to the Clearview Board of Trustees, these measures could translate into shorter school days, fewer school days in the year, cuts to the curriculum, and larger class sizes.
Talks between the government, the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the Alberta School Boards Association have been ongoing since October 2010.
“We knew the government and the associations wanted the talks to be confidential,” said Ken Checkel, who chairs the Clearview board.
“But we were thinking that we should be talking to the parents about this.
“Then, on Jan. 17, we found out that one of the other parties at those talks had in fact gone to the media”, said Checkel.
“This is why the board has decided to send a letter to the parents, explaining the situation.”
The board invites the parents to make their voices heard by calling their local trustees. The phone numbers of all the trustees are on the board’s letter.
“We want to hear from as many people as possible.”
“We don’t think this proposal is a good idea, but we want to hear from our constituents,” he added.
Parents could also contact their MLA, too.