Education Minister Gordon Wyant recently announced the government has no interest in bargaining class sizes. (Brady Lang/650 CKOM)

By Michael Joel-Hansen

Education Contract Talks

P.A. teachers weigh in as negotiations continue

Sep 18, 2019 | 5:24 PM

Prince Albert Teachers are making their opinions known as the provincial government and the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation (STF) negotiate a new collective agreement.

Ted Zurakowski, president of the Prince Albert and Area Teachers Association, which represents over 800 members said he has been fielding calls from quite a few concerned educators.

“The calls that I am getting at this office are from teachers who are feeling overwhelmed in the classroom and they are looking for help,” he said.

Specifically, Zurakowski said teachers are feeling that tools are being taken from them. This includes the loss of educational assistants. He explained the loss of resources is leading to there not being enough time to work with students and these concerns need to be looked at.

“Be willing to take a look at what’s going on in our classroom, what are the challenges in the classroom, what are the learning conditions in the classroom that are affecting the students,” he said.

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Recently Education Minister Gordon Wyant announced the government was not interested in bargaining in regards to the issue of class sizes. Zurakowski said class sizes are important in regards to the success of students and if classes are too big certain students may not have their needs met.

“It’s one of the very first things sacrificed when money gets tight,” he said.

The local association president said he is not optimistic about the teachers and the province coming to an agreement to resolve the issues, given how the past two rounds of bargaining have gone.

“What’s become more alarming is an unwillingness to understand those challenges in the classroom,” he said.

Zurakowski said teachers he has talked to are more interested in speaking about classroom issues and not about the monetary value of the contract. He added they are hoping to get support from parents and others in the community.

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MichaelJoel.Hansen@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @mjhskcdn