Happy holiday Monday everyone! I wanted to make sure to post today to ensure that every school got a shoutout during the campaign period. We are not a large board compared to some of our neighbours, but we do have a variety of schools, large and small, with staff knocking it out of the park despite the funding crunch. When it comes to a staff that knows how to work with less, this morning’s video talks about Clarke HS.

Clarke is a school that I had the opportunity to teach at about a decade ago, at a time when their numbers were starting to decline but the staff was made up of long time staff dedicated to high standards and community support. Unfortunately, this school is one that has been undermined by defunding and some highly complex working conditions exist. No teacher should have to face 5 and 6 way splits, but Doug Ford’s funding arrangement has caused it here. I was so impressed by the Clarke’s cohesiveness then, and they continue to be a great team now.

With the announcement of a Newcastle K-12 school in the works, Clarke’s future on this site is in a state of flux. I have been preparing myself for the last number of years learning how accommodation reviews work, and I assure the staff at Clarke HS that I have their backs as they go through this. If Clarke is to continue to operate as is, I will advocate strongly at the Provincial level to help with the split-class problem (as that is central brief language) to improve your working conditions in the short term. A President needs to be able to work both sides of the coin – protect what we have and work towards improvements. I will be with you every step of the way.

I am so pleased that Mark Loster, long time Clarke HS union rep, has endorsed my candidacy. He’s not on facebook so hopefully someone can show him this

I’ll be posting again later today. Enjoy your holiday!

Chris