(File photo/northeastNOW)

By Cam Lee

Horizon SD discusses teacher sanctions

Horizon SD promises communication amid teacher job action

Jan 12, 2024 | 5:00 PM

The Director of Education of Horizon School Division is weighing in on teacher sanctions and the one-day strike.

Teachers announced Thursday that they will be holding the strike on Tuesday, Jan. 16 as contract talks with the province remain at a standstill.

Kevin Garinger told northeastNOW that any job action will require parents to have to shift their schedules and those of their children.

“[The division] need[s] to make sure that the communication lines are open and strong,” Garinger said.

After the one-day strike announcement, Horizon sent a memo to parents informing them of what will happen, and that their children would be missing school. Staff was also informed of the implications of the strike day.

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“We made sure those communication lines were immediately flooded so that they were aware, and of course, we have systems within our organization that allow us to do that very, very quickly,” Garinger explained.

Bus drivers and other employee groups were also informed after Thursday’s announcement, and Garinger said they will continue to stay in the loop. He said the main goal is ensuring the students are taken care of during the process.

“We’re doing everything we can to ensure the safety and well-being of our students knowing that [current or potential future job action] is going to impact them significantly,” explained Garinger. He said the division wants to make sure the children are supported, and they can reach out to the division with any questions.

Any future job activity by teachers could include full strikes, the withdrawal of extra-curricular activities or noon-hour supervision.

Garinger said any job action will affect student wellness, with extracurricular activities like sports, dramatic arts, and music very important to them. However, he said it’s not only students that would be affected by the decision to withdraw extracurricular activities.

“Teachers go into the profession to educate children, but part of the opportunity that they get is they also get the opportunity to engage in extracurricular with them and we know that’s hard on them too,” Garinger added. “But we also understand this is part of the process of negotiating.”

He said there are contingency plans in place regarding job action and the division has been planning for some time in case the situation arose. The hope, according to Garinger, is that the sanctions don’t last long and that an agreement is reached soon.

“In the end, we’ll be prepared to respond in a myriad of ways as we deal with whatever the ramifications of job action might look like.”

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com