The Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board will close all of its schools Friday due to a province-wide protest by CUPE members.
In a letter issued Wednesday to parents and guardians, Frances Bagley, the board’s director of education, said, “We have carefully reviewed the situation and have determined that in the absence of custodial staff, the learning environment would be unsafe for students. For this reason, we have made the difficult decision to close schools for all students on Friday, Nov. 4.”
Also cancelled Friday will be before- and after-school programs, school transportation services, community use of schools and extracurricular activities.
Bagley noted the board will provide students with work for them to complete independently at home.
“Although we are not distributing technology on Friday, we are making plans to ensure students have the appropriate technology at home so we can move to a synchronous remote learning model as soon as possible, if necessary,” she wrote.
She also said families are encouraged “to explore alternate arrangements for their children in case this labour unrest continues.”
Deciding to close all schools “was not easy,” Bagley said.
“We know that returning to a learning-from-home scenario will be difficult for many caregivers and children. At the same time, the health and safety of our students must always be our top consideration. After exploring all the critical daily functions performed by custodial staff, including continued COVID-19 cleaning protocols, we cannot safely keep schools open for students.”
