Public school board campaigns against ministry over rule continued from p.9 could be two or even three teachers in front of one class during the school year. If the enrolment of a school increased over the summer, typically an Occasional Teacher (OT) would be put in charge of a class. Under the previous rules, the OT could work to become a permanent teacher if the vacancy continued. According to McFadden, under Regulation 274, an LTO must fill that position once it becomes permanent and the OT's class would be taken over by an LTO. Teacher absences filled by OTs that turn into permanent positions would need to be restaffed as well. Under Regulation 247, that could potentially result in a class having three different teachers throughout the school year. "Teachers matter more to student achievement than any other aspect of schooling," said Amos. "Regulation 274 has mandated hiring practices that will account for multiple teacher changes in some classrooms in a year and the inability of principals to assess and select other valuable qualities of teacher applicants to best fit local school requirements." Due to the regulation, the board's reorganization day has been pushed back to Sept. 30. According to McFadden, this is the latest reorganization day the public board has ever experienced but they hope to have teachers settled in their permanent classrooms by then. HDSB is sending out a common message to school administrators across the board, which explains how to address parents' concerns over class disruption caused by the regulation. Burlington Ward 1 and 3 trustee Dianna Bower suggested going back to the previous hiring rules, which gave principals more control over staffing changes. "I think we need to support our human resources," she said. "We have fair policy hiring practices in place and we need to have the right teacher in front of the students." 11 | Wednesday, September 25, 2013 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Shhhh... Oakville's Best Kept Secret. New Female Family Physician Comes to Oakville ANNOUNCEMENT Dr. Nilofar Siddiqi Joins Dr. Glenn Surbey at Abbey Family Medicine 14kt yellow, white and rose gold pave set with; 6.64ct., 414 brilliant cut diamonds., SI2-I1, G-H, (Gemscan Replacement Value $15,600) You can have this one only, for $7,800* 2307 Khalsa Gate, Oakville, ON L6M 4J2 Over 15 Years Experience And Has Relocated To Oakville The Highest Quality, The Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Now Accepting New Patients For Appointments Please Call 905.847.1133 309 Lakeshore Road East, Oakville 905.339.7604 · www.omnijewelcrafters.com *Subject to prior sale and may be terminated at any time. ymcaofoakville.org 905-845-3417