Laid-off teachers won't be returning to their old jobs

By Renée Rodgers

The fact that school enrollment numbers are so close to Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board spring projections means none of the 16 secondary school teachers laid off last spring will be re-hired this fall.

Kerry Donnell, communications officer for the board, said last spring the laid-off teachers would be the first on the list of people to rehire, should projections turn out to be wrong and more teachers were required.

But the actual number of students enrolled at Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board schools this fall almost exactly matches the figure projected by the board last spring.

Dave Rutherford, superintendent of business services, made the announcement at a board meeting Sept. 26.

“(The teachers) remain on layoff because our numbers predicted for this fall have come in as predicted,” Rob McGall, director of education and secretary of the board, confirmed in an interview after the meeting. “The decline in secondary is as we thought it would be.”

The board’s projection for elementary enrollment made last spring was off by three students (9,452 compared to a projected 9,448.5) while the secondary school enrollment projection was off by five students (5,838 compared to a projection of 5,843).