Calgary school trustees from the Calgary Board of Education became the latest to release their opinion on the tentative contract agreement the Alberta Teachers’ Association and the provincial government reached late last week.
In a letter, posted on the Calgary Board of Education’s website, the board’s chair explained their position on the proposed agreement – saying it was “not a good deal for students”, as there are outlined benefits in the deal for teachers and the government, but “Benefits for students are conspicuously absent.”
According to the letter, the board is concerned the agreement hands over “much of the decision-making for student learning in the teachers’ union” and it includes “significant” hidden costs.
That was one of the reasons the Edmonton Public School Board decided not support the agreement, on Tuesday, the board voted unanimously not to support the agreement, citing costs, and saying it would also be bad for students.
On the other hand, Edmonton Catholic Schools voted to support the agreement, saying any costs the deal would incur should be handled separately from the school board’s budget – and it brings labour peace.
Last week, the province and ATA revealed they had reached a tentative agreement, after two and a half years at the bargaining table.
The four-year agreement includes a wage freeze for the first three years, followed by a two percent increase in the last year, along with a lump-sum payment.
ASBA officials had been involved in the bargaining, but were not a part of the new agreement.
Alberta’s 62 school boards will give their decisions on the tentative agreement to the Alberta School Boards Association, which will form the association’s official position on the deal.
The province’s teachers still need to ratify the agreement as well – they have until May to do so.
Late Tuesday, results from the first local school district were released, teachers in the Palliser Regional School District in southern Alberta voted in support of the deal.
