Statement from ASBA President Heather Welwood re conclusion of agreements with ATA by Jan. 31 deadline
Release date: January 31, 2008
Heather Welwood, president of the Alberta School Boards Association, today issued the following statement about the province’s 62 school boards successfully concluding agreements with the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) which will result in five years of labour peace and see the government assume the $2.1 billion teachers’ share of the pre-1992 unfunded liability of the Teachers’ Pension Plan:
“Under incredible time constraints and pressure, Alberta’s 62 school boards successfully achieved agreements with the provincial ATA before the Jan. 31 deadline.
I thank and congratulate school boards for the work they did. It’s important to understand the unique role and responsibility of school boards in bargaining. Not only do school boards sit down to hammer out a deal that works for teachers – but because school boards are keepers of public tax dollars – school boards must find a deal that they can afford to pay for in the long run. School boards must live within their financial means and achieve agreements that balance the interests of students, the community and teachers.
With five years of labour peace in hand, I know school boards are looking forward to focusing on educational priorities. Imagine what we – school boards, teachers and the education minister – could do to improve high school completion rates if we all focused the kind of energy we just did on negotiations over the past 70 plus days?
School boards see tremendous opportunity – thanks to the hard work of school boards, the ATA and our minister of education. Let’s get on with making a difference for students in this province.”
For more information contact: ASBA President Heather Welwood at 1.780.812.1895 (cell) or at 1.780.482.7311 (office) or Suzanne Lundrigan, ASBA Communications at 1.780.940.1671 (cell) or 1.780.482.7311 (office).
