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[4]By Max Reid [5]
NAPANEE – Teachers and support staff rallied outside of the Algonquin & Lakeshore Catholic District School Board in Napanee on Tuesday to protest government funding cuts that will see the loss of 21 jobs by the end of August.
QNet News was able to confirm in an email with a school board official that the positions affected by the layoffs will be among the support staff at schools. Namely, learning resource assistants, educational assistants, and custodians among others.
The official said the jobs that are to be cut were created using the last round of funding the board received, however, as of August 31 the funding for those positions will be cancelled along with the positions themselves.
About 30 teachers and support staff from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local 1479 stood for two-and-a-half hours while trustees were debating the board’s business in a meeting.
“Cuts hurts kids” was the recurring phrase being used by the dozens of protestors who showed up to voice their concern over the reduced support students will receive in the coming school year starting in September. Many brought their own children with them to join in the chants and flag waving.
Kevin French, a caretaker in Batawa and the local CUPE president echoed the worries of his fellow protestors.
“The kids that are in classes that need more E.A. support, the money’s not there,” he said.
However, French did acknowledge that communication between the board and the union has been productive and that the blame is on Ontario’s conservative government, not local school board trustees.
“We’ve talked in depth with everyone here at the school board from the director, right down to HR (human resources) and all the way down to the trustees…like I said, though, these are cuts that didn’t come from the board, they came from the Conservative government which is now in power.”
ew