Saskatoon Public Schools closing at lunch as teacher job action continues

“Without teachers providing supervisory coverage, schools will be closed during the lunch period and students must go home for lunch.”

Published Apr 07, 2024 • Last updated 11 hours ago • 2 minute read

(File) Photo by Mirjana Ristic / iStock /Getty ImagesSaskatoon Public Schools will be closed during the lunch period and students must go home for lunch, parents and caregivers were told on Saturday.

Shane Skjerven, director of education at Saskatoon Public Schools said in an email to parents, caregivers and families on April 6, that as a result of the withdrawal of noon supervision by Saskatchewan Teachers Federation until further notice, the school division cannot ensure the safety of students during lunch.

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“Every day, 371 teachers supervise during the lunch period in Saskatoon Public Schools and without teachers providing supervisory coverage, schools will be closed during the lunch period and students must go home for lunch,” Skjerven said in the email.

There will be a five-minute buffer before and after the regularly scheduled lunch period to allow students time to exit and enter the school. This means students will be dismissed five minutes early at lunch and classes will begin five minutes later at the end of the lunch period, he added. The email also said that only classes that are regularly scheduled during the lunch period — choral, jazz band, driver education were the examples given — will operate during the lunch period. The changes remain in place until further notice, Skjerven said.

“As a school division, we respect the collective bargaining process. Our number one priority is the safety of our students and maintaining a focus on student learning,” Skjerven said.

As previously announced by Saskatchewan Teachers Federation on Friday, teachers provincewide will arrive at schools no earlier than 15 minutes before the start of their workday, and stay no later than 15 minutes after the end of their workday from Monday.

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Communication between the two bargaining committees has been quiet since a joint press conference hosted by Minister of Education Jeremy Cockrill and the Saskatchewan School Boards’ Association (SSBA) last week. At that time, the two parties spoke of a framework, intended by the province to be signed outside of a collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

Bargaining for a new contract began in May 2023, with the first meetings between the STF and the government-trustee bargaining committee taking place at the end of that month. In October, the STF declared an impasse and intent to seek conciliation. Two rounds of conciliation meetings took place in Regina, one in early December, and the next in mid-December.

On Dec. 13, STF president Samantha Becotte declared job action “virtually inevitable” after another impasse and the first one-day provincewide strike took place on Jan. 16. A variety of strikes and sanctions have unfolded across Saskatchewan since then, which is the longest string of job action by teachers in the history of the province.

With Regina Leader-Post files

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