The Teachers’ Bargaining Committee for the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) announced that teachers are implementing sanctions starting Thursday, March 12.
One possible casualty of the sanctions in Weyburn is the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association (SHSAA) regional boys basketball playoffs, which was to be hosted by the Weyburn Comp this weekend, with the girls regionals set for Yorkton.
The SHSAA said in a statement issued on Tuesday morning that the regional basketball playoffs can go ahead if the sanctions were lifted by 3:30 on Wednesday.
“It will be most unfortunate if the two sides cannot come to an arrangement that will allow the sanctions to be lifted,” said the SHSAA in a statement. If the cancellation proceeds, it will impact about 1,700 students and 300 coaches across the province.
“Without Saskatchewan teachers available to participate in SHSAA activities as a coach, official or organizer, SHSAA events cannot continue to be offered,” said the statement by Lyle McKellar, executive director of SHSAA.
“The safety of all students will continue to be the first priority for South East Cornerstone Public School Division (SECPSD) during this time,” said the public school division in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.
All voluntary and extracurricular services will be withdrawn during the period of sanctions. As a result, SECPSD and Holy Family will be cancelling all extracurricular activities effective Thursday, March 12, until further notice.
For both Cornerstone and Holy Family, this will include practices, games, tournaments, school clubs, drama, arts, and any other extracurricular activity. School bus routes are anticipated to run as normally scheduled.
Holy Family added that they anticipate there will be no impact to noon-hour supervision at this time, and students are requested not to arrive any earlier than 15 minutes before school, and be prepared to leave no later than 15 minutes after classes are done.
In announcing the sanctions on Monday, the STF said, “Despite acknowledging that complexity and composition of our classrooms is challenging, the government remains unwilling to provide adequate support for students across the province.”
“It is extremely frustrating that government admits there is a problem, but refuses to address it,” said Patrick Maze, President of STF. “Students are paying the price. Teachers have made it clear that securing adequate classroom resources for students is worth fighting for.”
Teachers voted 90.2 per cent in favour of sanctions on Feb. 10 and 11. Under the Restriction of Services sanction, all STF members will:
• Continue to provide students with the best possible learning opportunities during the school day.
• Report to school and provide professional service no more than 15 minutes prior to the start of the school day and not later than 15 minutes after the conclusion of the school day.
• Continue to provide student supervision such as recess, lunch or bus supervision within the time frame specified above.
• Not provide any voluntary or extracurricular services.
“We recognize this causes uncertainty, disappointment and frustration for students, parents and teachers,” said Maze. “We had all hoped to avoid this situation. We ask for continued support in urging government to fix the problems its underfunding has created for students across the province.”
The sanction will remain in effect until further notice. The Teachers’ Bargaining Committee remains focused on negotiating an agreement that addresses student need and is deemed acceptable by teachers. Information and updates on sanctions are available at www.stf.sk.ca/teaching-saskatchewan/collective- bargaining/sanctions.
