After reaching a tentative deal with secondary school teachers last Thursday, the Rainy River District School Board reached a tentative agreement with elementary school teachers late Monday afternoon.
“The negotiating team for the board is happy with the possibility to have all our bargaining units under contract by next week,” said Warren Hoshizaki, director of education for the Rainy River District School Board.
The deals, the details of which can not be released until both the membership and trustees ratify it, are two years in duration, retroactive to Sept. 1, 2002 and expire on Aug. 31, 2004.
“We’re pleased to get a two-year deal,” continued Hoshizaki, noting that other boards in the province have settled for one-year deals, putting them back at the bargaining table at the end of the school year.
“It helps the system to look at other educational issues,” he said. “It’s good for the kids.”
Hoshizaki had nothing but praise for the negotiating teams for the teachers, and the teachers themselves, on how they handled the long-standing contract dispute.
“We’re pleased with the results,” said Gary Gamsby, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario Rainy River District Teachers’ Local and a member of the bargaining team. “We have been meeting with the board [since Sept.], but more spaced out than the secondary negotiations. We made progress every time we met.
“We were both honestly trying to reach a fair agreement,” added Gamsby.
“I think the membership will be pleased with it,” said Brian Church, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation District 5B bargaining unit. “It was a compromise on both sides.
“I don’t think there are any major problems it is hard to say because there are people on both sides of the scales,” Church noted, adding that there were members ready to strike and others who wanted to settle months ago.
“I’m sure with the majority of staff. it will be a positive reception,” he said. “I think many are relieved they didn’t have to act on a full blown strike vote.”
The secondary school teachers will be presented with the tentative agreement in Fort Frances and Rainy River today and members in Atikokan will have it presented to them tomorrow.
On Friday, the membership will vote to ratify or reject the agreement. Trustees will vote to ratify the agreement with the secondary school teachers at their next meeting, next Tuesday in Emo.
Elementary school teachers will try to be ready so the board can consider their agreement that night, too.
“We’re expecting we’ll ratify it by the afternoon of May 6,” said Gamsby, “then the board will ratify it that evening. It’s a little tight but . . .”
According to Hoshizaki, trustees won’t vote on the agreement until it has been ratified by membership.
“The board will wait until the teachers have ratified it,” he said.
Many boards across the province have been without a contract for sometime with elementary school teachers, according to Gamsby.
He estimated that one-third of boards are still without a contract
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
