On Thursday, new Education Minister Tom Osborne announced the provincial government would be hiring 70 substitute teachers as full-time employees of the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District (NLESD) for the upcoming school year.
“The substitutes will be assigned to a school,” Osborne said. “If we get a second wave it provides us … additional resources.
“I imagine … we will utilize the substitute teachers far more than they were utilized previously.”
Osborne said this means more consistency and continuity for students.
“The NLTA were calling for a more permanent solution so we’re going to use this as a trial period this year,” Osborne said.
As well, current school custodians will see their hours increased and additional custodians will be hired to account for increased cleaning protocols.
The announcement was made after a meeting between the NLESD, the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association (NLTA), Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, Health Minister Dr. John Haggie, Premier Andrew Furey, Progressive Conservative education critic Craig Pardy and education critic for the New Democratic Party, Jim Dinn.
NLTA president Dean Ingram said the 70 positions announced don’t add capacity within the system.
Schools where the substitutes will be placed will be identified by looking at their historical use of substitutes. As an example, he said a large school like Corner Brook Regional High in Corner Brook would already have on a daily basis at least one substitute that the administration would need to call every day.
So, one of the new positions could be hired in the school on a term contract, streamlining things by making it one less call the administration of that school has to make.
If a teacher is out for any reason that substitute would be assigned to take on the duties of that person for that day.
Having the person on site means the school doesn’t need to draw down on the pool of substitute teachers. If more than one teacher is out then an additional substitute from the pool would have to be called in.
“Obviously, 70 teachers spread among our schools will not satisfy the needs of every school,” said Ingram.
He said the NLTA already has concerns about the availability of and access to substitute teachers across the province.
Stephenville is one area that traditionally has trouble finding substitutes and there have been reports from metro St. John’s and Corner Brook of times when substitutes can’t be found.
“This step, in terms of implementing term positions for substitutes, will not compound the problem. It won’t assist the problem, but it won’t compound it.”
Ingram stressed the hiring of substitute teachers is an important first step, but there are many other steps that need to occur as well. That includes discussions around class size, the challenges of physical distancing, concerns around the allocations for school counsellors and administrators, mask wearing in schools and busing.
When asked if the issues can be addressed before school opens, Ingram said: “All I do know is you can never get the solutions to problems without engaging in productive discussions on them. Can measures be taken? Well, that depends on the will of the parties involved to find them.”
Ingram has had discussions with Osborne since he took on the education portfolio and with Premier Andrew Furey and feels there is an interest in collaboration and true consultation.
He also said the formation of all-party committee to look at the issues is a good step as well.
In a news release from the Office of the Official Opposition, Progressive Conservative leader Ches Crosbie said Osborne is “out of step” with Furey.
“I met with Premier Furey today and he told me that he would not announce an all-party committee without discussing it with me,” the statement read.
Crosbie added that the matter of busing, which has “left 6,000 children without a way to get to school,” is a more urgent issue.
In the same statement, Pardy said Osborne made no mention of an “all-party committee,” but is ready to give his insight regardless.
Osborne said while other issues were discussed as well, the issue of substitutes and extra cleaners were easier issues to solve.
“The issue of busing is a little more complex,” he said. “That will require … additional work.”
As for being out of step with the premier, Osborne said the exact conversation was about putting politics aside.
“If we’re going to debate whether we should call it an all-party committee, that’s too silly for words,” Osborne said. “I would rather … leave politics out of this and work together on solutions.”
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