Schools in the Upper Grand District School Board will be open today, but closures across the board due to the ongoing dispute between the province and CUPE employees begin tomorrow.
All Upper Grand secondary schools will shift to remote learning tomorrow, and all Upper Grand elementary schools will shift to remote learning on Wednesday.
Students in Life Skills class placements and Education and Community Partnership Programs will continue with in-person learning.
In a statement, the Upper Grand District School Board said non-unionized staff from non-CUPE sites are working to support CUPE custodial sites to try to keep them open.
The Upper Grand District School Board covers 76 schools. CUPE represents over 220 permanent custodial and maintenance staff, and the UGDSB says they’re relying on approximately 90 non-unionized staff to support basic cleaning services at schools. This is in addition to their regular job responsibilities, such as Human Resources, Communications, Payroll, or Student Mental Health.
Last Friday, over a dozen maintenance repair issues were reported across the board’s schools, ranging from lighting to plumbing and electrical repairs.
The board explained the vast geography of the district makes it very difficult to respond with very limited qualified management staff.
Upper Grand Schools closing this week
