CUPE joins probe into alleged theft at Saskatoon school

The division and its schools work hard to ensure that all schools have the appropriate security and safety measures in place.

The union representing support staff in Saskatoon Public Schools is working with the school division on potential safety improvements after a union member was the victim of a robbery in late 2017.

Saskatoon police charged a 35-year-old man with numerous offences after an alleged breakin on Dec. 14. Police say the man, who court documents identified as Aaron Daniel Crain, allegedly broke into Bedford Road Collegiate around 6 a.m. that day.

He’s charged with theft, robbery of a Canadian Union of Public Employees 8443 (CUPE) member and breaching a court order.

“We’re right in the middle of this,” CUPE Local 8443 president Scott Barrett said on Thursday.

He said the union is aware of the incident and is working with the school division and the affected staff member to investigate and identify any potential safety improvements that could be made.

In a statement, the school division said student learning and school operations were not affected by the incident. A letter was also issued to the parents and guardians of the school’s 643 students to inform them about the incident.

“The division and its schools work hard to ensure that all schools have the appropriate security and safety measures in place,” the statement read. “Those measures are evaluated as required and changes are made to meet the ... needs of an individual facility, or the overall need of facilities across the division.”

Police spokeswoman Kelsie Fraser said in an email while she isn’t exactly sure why a news release wasn’t issued about the incident, it may have been due to the fact it took place in the early morning before students and most staff arrived and was “relatively minor” in nature.

Court documents didn’t state what was taken in the alleged incident.