Teachers working for the Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) will have to wait a little longer before finding out if they will face similar layoffs to those that were announced last week by the public board.
Last week, the Upper Grand District School Board issued layoff notices to 54 elementary school teachers. The layoffs will go into effect in September and do not affect positions in the current school year.
The UGDSB is hopeful it can rehire the teachers once provincial funding becomes clearer.
Last month, Ontario’s Ministry of Education announced an increase to elementary and secondary school class sizes, a move that has some concerned about teacher layoffs.
The union representing Catholic teachers in the area expects those changes will have similar effects on students in its board, said Mark Berardine, unit president for the Wellington Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association (OECTA).
“OECTA is extremely concerned how these cuts will harm students, reduce opportunities and slash many of our fantastic programs,” said Berardine.
Wellington OECTA represents about 500 full time equivalency teachers and 200 occasional teachers.
Berardine said the WCDSB has a different deadline than the public board, which is why there has so far been no announcement from the Catholic board.
The WCDSB did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
