Catholic school board asks province for more use of retired teachers
The Catholic school board hopes extending the number of days retired teachers can work in the classroom will help address supply staff shortages.
Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board chair Kevin MacKenzie received unanimous support from trustees Tuesday night to send a letter to Minister of Education Stephen Lecce, requesting retired teacher work days be increased from 95 to 120.
The motion was precipitated from an email MacKenzie had received from a retired teacher currently working as an occasional teacher who had already reached her maximum allowed.
“And it’s only February,” said MacKenzie, noting the demand for occasional teachers is being experienced by boards across the province.
In January 2022, Lecce announced that Ontario’s retired teachers would be allowed to teach up to 95 days a year — previously the cap was 50 — in an effort to fill a projected shortfall of 7,000 occasional teachers.
At the time, close to 40 per cent of school boards reported they had no occasional teachers to fill in for up to 25 per cent of their teacher absences. The shortfall was believed to be a combination of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a decade-long decline in teacher college graduates — the Liberal government had doubled the length of time from one to two years in 2015 in order to balance the job market — accelerated growth and retirements.
Superintendent of human resource services Darren Kahler, told trustees the board’s supply teacher fill rate sits at around 88 per cent. Roughly 13 per cent of the board’s occasional teachers are also designated as “nonqualified.”
He explained these are individuals who are currently enrolled in a university degree program or have completed a degree program. Individuals must also have experience working or volunteering with children and are vetted carefully.
While there has been an increase in the use of non-qualified teachers provincewide, the practice has always been permitted for exceptional circumstances.
“I don’t see any downside in having more retirees provide hours,” continued Kahler, adding increasing hours should have no financial impact.
Although Kahler could not speak to the impact on teachers’ pensions, he expected, as with the previous increase, claw back would not occur.