This article was first published by Newmarket Today, a Village Media publication.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce is criticizing teacher unions over ongoing vacancies that have left some York Region classrooms without permanent teachers.
York Catholic District School Board is garnering concern from some parents about how it's handling teacher vacancies at St. Maximilian Kolbe Catholic High School in Aurora. Grade 12 students in both a science class and a business/credit recovery course were given 100 per cent on mid-terms due to the impact of having no permanent teacher, according to letters from the school board to parents.
Asked by reporters at Queen's Park about the situation, Lecce criticized teachers unions for blocking what his ministry believes could be a solution for the shortage of teachers plaguing school boards across the province. He has been urging the unions to allow retired teachers to work additional hours to make up for those vacancies.
"Qualified teachers could be in the classroom and restore some stability for those kids. It's unacceptable,” Lecce told reporters. “We have a solution. And I would hope that our partners in education, particularly our unions, would see the light and do the right thing and accept this common sense recommendation.
"My instinct is we need to get retired educators in schools to fill those voids. Kids need to work hard for them to be assessed on their achievement,” Lecce said.
The Ford government has requested that a pandemic policy allowing retired teachers to work 95 days a year instead of 50 continue for the 2023-24 school year. But the Ontario Teachers’ Federation rebuffed the request in March and said it was supposed to be a short-term measure following the pandemic.
York Catholic Teachers president Michael Totten told NewmarketToday the government needs to do more to attract non-retired teachers, and that many qualified teachers are currently not working.
"What has the ministry done to engage teachers back into the profession?” Totten said. “While the extension of days, which has been done over the last several years may be a temporary solution, it is not sustainable over time to expect that it will fix the overarching issue of ministry underfunding."
York Catholic District School Board said the vacancy situation is rare, and they are confident they will hire a replacement for a science class soon. The board warned that the 100 per cent mark would likely change, reflecting assignments before the end of the year.
NewmarketToday did not receive a reply to a request for further comment from the board before publication deadline.
For the business recovery course, where students had received a 100 per cent mark on mid-terms, the school told parents it has now found a replacement teacher.
Lecce said he is committed to bringing long-term solutions to teacher supply issues. But he added that extending the number of days retired teachers can work could temporarily fix an issue such as the one St. Maximilian Kolbe is experiencing.
“I know many of them (retired teachers) who are ready to work today if only their union and the (Ontario) Teachers’ Federation weren’t obstructionist,” Lecce said.
But Totten said there are underlying issues that need to be addressed.
“The underfunding has led to teachers exiting the profession as a result of frustrations and stress on their own mental health,” he said.
— With files from Sneh Duggal, Brock Weir
