This is a long one folks. And my Facebook friends will probably recognize that I don’t often post anything other than a few family pictures, and birthday wishes, but here it is:
Based on the information (or lack thereof) provided to the Near North DSB by the Ministry of Education, 121 teachers were recently declared redundant. 24 of those teachers are at Parry Sound High School. And no, this is not a ‘normal’ occurrence. We haven’t had more than 2 or 3 at our school every yea...r since I was one of the 26 laid off during the Mike Harris days.
This is what letting go of that many teachers looks like.
This is 144 classes gone.
Without some sort of funding announcement from the Ford government, they won’t be recalled, and students next year will have access to fewer (or no) classes at all grade levels in Art, Drama, Music, English, Math, Science, Indigenous Language, Indigenous Culture, Health & Physical Education, Special Education, Technological Education, History, Social Sciences, Geography, French, and Section 23 programming.
These staff have been responsible for coaching basketball, volleyball, soccer, curling, track and field, cross country running, badminton, Nordic skiing, mountain biking, and hockey.
They have been advisors to clubs and activities like Waterfest, the annual pow-wow, Character Development and Leadership, ArtsFest, Student Council, Athletic Council, student drumming, the AV Club, school bands, the school’s drama productions, and Student Success initiatives.
They have spent countless hours at lunch and after school dedicating themselves to students.
And let’s not forget, that at this point we aren’t even getting information on all the other support service personnel who may be subject to job losses: EAs, ECEs, PSSPs, secretarial, and custodial staff who are equally part of providing quality education to students.
Please speak up and share your support for the students of today and tomorrow. Call or e-mail your MPP, wherever you are, and let them know you oppose cuts that hurt students. Talk to your friends and families, and share your thoughts on social media.
Please, if (and hopefully when) an announcement comes and some of these layoffs are recalled, don’t be swayed too quickly. A fall back that says there will only be 60, or 40, or 20 teacher layoffs, is still a crippling blow to students of the Near North District School Board.
And finally, if things do change, don’t be fooled into thinking that it was because it was part of the plan all along. History suggests that governments of all stripes will try to get away with things until they are called on them. If there is a change, it will be because enough people called out the Ford government and said, “Don’t mess with our students.”
