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PAGE A12THE CANADIAN STATESMAN, APRIL 18,2001 Kawartha Pine Ridge's elementary teachers need your support now Time is running out, if a strike by the 1,500 elementary teachers employed by the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board is to be averted. What are the issues? Fundamentally, the School Board doesn't want to pay elementary teachers the same as other teacher groups, despite the fact that we work more, have longer hours, and are paid less. This is simply unfair. The Board wants to take away the time that teachers use to discuss students' progress with parents. This makes no sense at all. Parents need to be involved in the education of their children. Teachers know this. Parents know this. What's wrong with this Board? For years, the School Board has turned the screws on its elementary teachers, systematically keeping salaries low and stripping the collective agreement, which has reduced teachers' standard of living. At the same time, the Board has shown itself to be a poor manager of funds: it can afford to take senior management on costly "retreats" at lakeside resorts, but has no money to give teachers what they deserve. One consequence is already clear: the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board is unable to recruit and keep good, young elementary teachers. The future of your elementary schools is at stake. We're still hoping for a negotiated settlement in the current contract talks, and we're continuing to do all we can to make it happen. All we're asking for is fairness. We want to be in our classrooms, doing the work we love, not on a picket line. You can help. We'd appreciate your support. Tell your School Trustee to negotiate a settlement that's fair and reasonable, before time runs out. Please call your School Trustee today City of Peterborough Rose Kitney 705-743-1762 Roy Wilfong 705-743-1247 City of Quinte West - Murray Ward; Municipality of Brighton; Township of Alnwick/Halidmand; Township of Cramahe Christopher Nelson 613-475-5587 Municipality of Campbellford/Seymour, Percy, Hastings; Township of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Don Mathews 705-778-3591 Municipality of Clarington Nancy Coffin 905-436-7706 Bob Willsher (Chairperson of the Board) 905-987-4845 Town of Cobourg; Township of Hamilton Gordon Gilchrist 905-342-2194 Town of Port Hope-Hope; Township of Cavan- Miilbrook-North Monaghan Erin Brown 905-885-7365 Township of Asphodel-Norwood; Township of Douro- Dummer; township of Otonabee-South Monaghan Angela Lloyd (Vice-Chairperson of the Board) 705-939-6967 Township of Calway-Cavendish and Harvey; Township of North Kawartha; Township of Smith- Ennismore-Lakefield Diane Lloyd 705-652-3677 First Nation Band Councils: Alderville, Curve Lake and Hiawatha Jacqueline Gorveatt 905-352-3288 ^Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario