The following is a message from Krishna Burra, Director of Education for Limestone District School Board
Unfortunately, I have some disappointing news to share today. We had hoped a fair, and mutually agreeable agreement would be reached between the provincial government and CUPE this week, but regrettably talks have broken down. As a result, CUPE has filed a five-day notice announcing a full withdrawal of services, effective Monday, November 21.
If a resolution is not reached by Monday morning, all schools and buildings will be closed to students and the public on Monday, November 21, 2022.
Families should have a contingency plan in place for Monday, and potentially longer, in the event central negotiations do not resume. We do remain hopeful that the parties resolve this matter with a negotiated settlement.
Limestone’s more than 750 CUPE employees play critical frontline and behind the scenes roles each day, supporting students and/or a wide range of school and system operations. Not having these staff will create significant supervision, student support, health, and safety challenges in schools.
We will continue to provide information as available. If a negotiated settlement is reached, we will confirm the status of our schools for in-person learning as soon as possible. Similar to an inclement weather day, this communication could be as late as Sunday evening or Monday morning through our regular Board channels, including direct e-mail messaging to families.
We continue to hope for a positive, fair, mutually agreeable provincial settlement, and that any disruption to in-person learning and regular operations is short in duration.
Thank you,
Krishna Burra, Director of Education