A memo from the Ministry of Education is a sign of what the Ford government intends on class sizes.
They were supposed to be consulting on class sizes. But now the Ford government has told school boards to implement a hiring freeze while it makes its decision.
A Ministry memo obtained by CTV News Toronto tells school boards to “defer the annual processes of filling vacancies for retirements and other leaves related to teachers and other staff,” reports CP24Now.
“School boards are advised to defer the annual processes of filling vacancies for retirements and other leaves related to teachers and other staff until the Minister of Education provides an update to the sector on or before March 15,” said the memo from Deputy Education Minister Nancy Naylor.
“Teachers and education workers leave, they retire, they go on parental leaves every year, so a freeze on those jobs is not a freeze, it is a cut,” commented NDP education critic Marit Stiles in the CP24 article.
Michael Barrett, chair of the Durham District School Board, told The Globe and Mail he was “worried about the potential impact” on the Board’s ability to deliver its programs.