GUELPH – The Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) has issued 54 layoff notices to elementary school teachers.
Citing a decrease in provincial funding, Upper Grand spokesperson Heather Loney wrote in an email, “It is our hope that we will be able to recall some, if not all, of these teachers.”
The board is expecting to have full funding details from the government at the end of April.
If the layoffs go forward, they will take effect in August, prior to the start of the school year in September.
Those issued layoff notices are elementary teachers with the lowest seniority, as outlined in the collective agreement, Loney explained.
“The reason these notices are being issued at this time is because we must adhere to strict timelines outlined in our collective agreements on communicating layoff notices,” Loney said.
The last time the UGDSB issued layoff notices was in 2015. All of those individuals were later recalled, Loney said.
“We are in this position due to an overall decrease in positions,” she said.
“This is due to a variety of things, including a loss in provincial revenue; provincial changes to autism funding, which resulted in the loss of some programs; Local Priority Funding that expires at the end of August; and in our board supported ESL (English as a Second Language) and Special Education, and other typical staffing considerations.”
The effect of the layoffs on students is unknown.
“We are awaiting full funding details from the ministry before we can assess the full impact moving forward,” Loney said.
A Wellington Catholic District School Board official did not respond to a phone call and email by press time.
