Peterborough School Boards to Close Friday If CUPE Staff Strike Cannot Reach Agreement

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Peterborough public and Catholic school boards could be closed on Friday to in-person learning as Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) plans to engage in a full withdrawal of services from schools on Friday.

Photo courtesy of PVNC.

The closures will occur if school boards cannot reach an agreement by Friday.

The Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board (PVNC) and Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board (KPRDSB) have release the following statement regarding school closures:

“Please know, we do not make this decision lightly and we understand the impact this will have on families. Without CUPE workers on-site, however, we simply cannot ensure safe conditions for all students and staff.”

The statement continues that this course of action is appropriate based on the following considerations:

  • supervision of students;

  • medical support and care for all students;

  • safe operation of water and sanitation systems, including required water flushing;

  • conditions of school buildings and classrooms, and

  • overall safety and security.

CUPE represents 55,000 employees that represents custodians, maintenance staff, secretaries, educational assistants, early childhood educators, learning commons specialists, paraprofessionals, central IT employees and more. They are looking for an 11.7 per cent increase in wages and are in a legal strike position starting Thursday. School boards must be given five days’ notice of any possible strike action.

Both school boards believe negotiations between the province and CUPE could go into late Thursday night.

Stephen Lecce, Ontario minister of education is adamant about keeping kids in the classroom and wants CUPE to withdraw their strike.

“In response to CUPE’s decision to strike, our government introduced legislation that will keep kids in class,” said Leece. “I’m again calling on CUPE to immediately withdraw this strike and work with us to keep kids in the classroom. Otherwise, to make sure schools don’t close, we have no choice but to proceed with legislation.”

If schools close on Friday, PVNC and KPRDSB will have students will transition to remote, asynchronous learning from home.

Both boards are beginning to collect information from families who require additional technology and distributing technology to students prior to Friday according to a statement issued by PVNC and KPRDSB.

On Friday, classroom teachers will connect with students through their regular communication platforms (e.g. Google Classrooms). The asynchronous model provides flexibility for families as teachers will be providing work that can be completed by students at any time during the day.

For students enrolled in virtual schools, programming will proceed as usual.

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