SARNIA, ON –(COMMUNITYWIRE)– A recent survey of Ontario education workers including Educational Assistants, Early Childhood Educators, Child and Youth workers, custodians, maintenance and trades workers, and school secretaries represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU) shows that a severe crisis in underfunding has led to extreme understaffing, students needs going unmet, and increased violence in the Lambton Kent District and the St. Clair Catholic District school boards.
The CUPE-OSBCU survey included over 12,000 respondents from across Ontario, with close to 700 education workers from Sarnia-area school boards. The survey points to a crisis of understaffing in all classifications, causing insufficient supports for students and staff in schools and the Sarnia community. School offices are overburdened by increasing demands, school cleaning suffers, and repairs are delayed or go undone.
Read the full CUPE-OSBCU Services Survey report for the Sarnia area.
CUPE 1238 represents over 900 education workers across the The Lambton Kent District School Board and CUPE 4168 represents over 400 educational workers across the St. Clair Catholic District School Board. Both locals include Educational Assistants, secretarial staff, maintenance and custodial workers, and more.
This school year alone, the Lambton Kent District School Board has faced a minimum of $24.4 million cut by the Conservative government to real per-pupil funding and St. Clair Catholic District School Board has faced a real per-pupil cut of over $10 million.
Many education workers at the two school boards say they frequently face violent incidents at their workplace, with almost 60 percent of Educational Assistants and Child and Youth Workers experiencing a violent incident every day.
This severe underfunding leaves students and workers at risk because there are too few staff in schools. It also means students have their learning environments disrupted on a regular basis, creating an environment that is far from conducive to having the highest quality of education.
CUPE education workers across the province are calling on the Ford government to immediately increase school board funding, adequately staff school boards so that education workers can do their jobs with dignity and respect, and address the crisis of violence across Ontario school boards.
The OSBCU represents more than 57,000 education workers across the province.
Quotes:
Joe Tigani, President of OSBCU: It is abundantly clear that the education system in Ontario is at a breaking point. For years, the Conservative government has continued to cut billions of dollars in funding to the education sector, causing extreme understaffing, increased violence against staff and students, and our students’ needs being neglected. There is no question that the Ford government has abandoned the education sector. The Ontario government must increase its investment in students and education workers and address this situation immediately. Students deserve better, parents deserve better, and our education workers deserve better.
Michele LaLonge-Davey, President of CUPE 1238: We know that understaffing affects the services we provide to students, staff and the community. We take pride in the work we deliver, but when we are stretched so thin, we feel overwhelmed and defeated. We are continually covering other workers’ duties and feel that children and staff are substantially affected. We do our best, but the lack of staffing greatly impacts our mental and physical health. If the school board was appropriately staffed, the workplace would be healthier, safer and better for all within the LKDSB.
Dave Geroux, President of CUPE 4168: Our members at SCCDSB are deeply committed to their work and the success of our schools. Every day, they go above and beyond to support students and maintain a safe and welcoming environment for learning. Unfortunately, over the last few years, it has become increasingly difficult to do so. They’re frustrated. They’re overworked. They’re burned out. Every year our members are given less and less support but are expected to do more and more. With adequate funding, we can provide them with the tools, time and the support our education workers our students deserve. The government’s failure to properly fund and support schools is unacceptable. We need more funding and we need it now. Investing in our team is an investment in the success of our students and the future of our schools. Together, we can ensure that our education system continues to thrive.
Numbers at a Glance:
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Shannon Carranco, CUPE Communications
scarranco@cupe.ca
514-703-8358