Secondary school students across Wellington County are currently in limbo, with no real information available regarding the status of the coming school year.
Earlier in August a letter was sent out to all secondary school students in the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) reminding them and their parents that the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF), which represents all UGDSB high school teachers, “is currently involved in legal ‘work-to-rule’ strike action across the province.”
The letter states Grade 9 orientation, registration and timetables, which normally take place the week before classes begin, have been postponed.
“The main purpose of that letter was just to let parents know that it may not be business as normal come the end of the summer,” UGDSB superintendent Carlo Zen said in a phone interview. “So it was really just to ask parents to look at their school websites and the board website just for updates with respect to what is happening because we’re not really sure at this point what may or may not be going on.”
Zen said various teacher federations are in bargaining this week and into next week.
“So we’ve been sort of in a holding pattern, so we’re expecting that hopefully next week we’ll have a little bit more information to share with families and with students,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) issued an online update for students and parents on Aug. 12.
“The impact on the beginning of the year is not entirely clear at this point,” states the letter from director of education Tamara Nugent.
It later adds, “WCDSB is doing everything possible to serve the best interests of students and families in the event of job action.”
WCDSB officials were not available for comment by press time, but the letter invites people to visit the board website for updates.
