On the second day of a teachers’ strike that has temporarily shuttered schools across Alberta, the education minister signalled a willingness to negotiate how many new staff members need to be hired, but added he’s still hesitant to agree to limits on classroom sizes.
Demetrios Nicolaides, Alberta’s education minister, told CBC Radio’s The Calgary Eyeopener on Tuesday that after teachers rejected an offer last week that would have committed the province to hiring 3,000 more teachers and more than 1,500 educational assistants, the provincial government is open to discussing offers that include larger staffing adjustments.
“If we need to hire 4,500 teachers, 4,000 teachers; if we need to hire 2,000 EAs instead of 1,500; we’re very happy to have those conversations and look at making those adjustments,” said Nicolaides.
“If there’s more that we can do in that regard, we’re happy to explore it.”