After the Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) rejected an enhanced mediation proposal with the government late last week, teachers might be feeling the pressure, as they do not get strike pay. This is according to John Hilton-O'Brien, Executive Director of Parents for Choice in Education (PCE), who says, "the limiting factor lies in the fact that the union is not giving out strike pay.""Well, that's going to mean that eventually teachers are going to say 'enough of this.'""Take the first deal that seems reasonable, return to the negotiating table, and end the strike."Will the strike end soon? Decide for yourself and become more informed about Alberta's education system by checking out the link below. .Hilton-O'Brien also touches on the allocation of resources to Alberta classrooms, something Premier Danielle Smith had commented on at a press conference last week. "Underlying it is a bureaucratic problem we're spending money that is coming close to $350,000 a classroom for the public system.""The average teacher is getting paid $85,000 of that and that's less than a quarter, so we've been suggesting to the government in the past before the strike came up, that an increase in pay for teachers doesn't seem unreasonable — at least for classroom teachers.""But the fact is that we're simply seeing the fact that not enough money is making it into the classroom.""Teachers are not feeling supported for a good reason."."But the government's spending the money all right —why is it not reaching the teachers?""And right there, the problem is going to come down to the trustees and the administration of the school districts," stated John Hilton-O'Brien.This comes after the ATA rejected an enhanced mediation deal last week that government officials claim would have ended the strike.Premier Smith, Finance Minister Nate Horner, and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said in a statement they are "very disappointed" about the rejection of the deal.Officials also stated that the strike entering the three-week mark could pose "irreparable harm" to Alberta's education system. .It is possible the government could legislate teachers to return to schools by Oct. 28.But there's more.If you'd like to hear discussions on the recently introduced citizen's initiative petition regarding the funding of private schools, and ATA decision-making, click here, to watch the clip.
