2 - The Canadian'Champ1lin, Tuesday, February 9, 1b99 Sherlock not optimistie about contract vote By HOWARD MOZEL Special to The Champion As Halton' s Catholic high school teachers voted Monday on the latest offer by their board, the man in charge of that body remained pessim-istic about a setulement. "There is a fairly strong possibility it will be rejected," said Halton Catholic District School Board Chair Jim Sherlock. "The union wili have already as5ked them to reject it." Mr. Sherlock - who made his comments at a special news conference Friday - requested the Ontario Labour Relations Board conduct a supervised vote by teachers. This was to be held Monday aftemoon at four locations: Burlington's Notre Dame Secondary School, Oakville's St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Thomas Aquinas, Milton's Bishop Reding. Results of the vote were not available at press time. Under Ministry of Labour legislation, the board is allowed only once to circumvent the union's executive and negotiating com- mittee and take the offer directly to thse teachers. "It's part of the process," said Mr. Sherlock. 'The local mcm- he-rship hiasn't had a chance to receive an oiffr trn the hoard and vote on it." Mr. Sherlock said that there exista a "huge gap in understand- ing" by the union about the financial resources available to the board. He said boards that stmuck deals for six of eight classes made "major concessions" in order to realize their plans. Unrealistic expectations "The union's expectations have been raised to pretty unrealistic levels," said Mr. Sherlock, who explained the Ministry of Education's rather arcane funding formula makes understanding onerous. "We have been under-funded for decades." Halton's bublic high school teachers were able to strike deals, Mr. Sherlock continued, in part because they froze their salaries. Staff such as teacher/librarians and guidance counselors were also shifleri into classmooms. The Halton Catholic union, he continued, made it clear such adjustments are absolutely non-negotiable. According to Steve Balogh, board superintendent of human resource, the board's lateat offer include a wage increase of 1 per cent effective September 1 1999, 1 per cent in Febnsary, 2000 and 1 per cent in February, 2001. For the first tîne, said Mr. Sherlock, the end rate would see Halton Catholic teachers paid more than their public counterparta. The offer features a teacher worload of 19 full classes over the three years of the proposed contract, or 6.33 classes per eight peri- oda of the school year. During the five semesters teachers aren't teaching a fourtii class, preparation time would be a minimum 200 minutes pet week. Dropping department heads The number of "on-calîs," or times when teachers cover for absenteeism and other contingencies, will be a maximum of twice per week. Department heads' on-caîl periods would drop from two to one. The number of department heads per school would be reduceri from 11 to nine effective September 1, 1999. Assistant depart- ment heads would be eliminated effective September 1, 1999. "Teachers should be aware that this is a very good offer,' said Mr. Sherlock. 'This is a serious offer that is competitive. We are asking them to think seriously about it." Mr. Sherlock said the board will mect as soon as possible afiter Monday's vote to make its decision about how to proceed. The last thing he wants, said. Mr. Sherlock, is more of the same for the test of the school year. "We've had a terribly disrupted first semester here," said Mr.. Sherlock, who referred to the second termn as a "new ball game." *see TENSIONS on page 4 Hlome Buying Semainar Learn: , What's Involved In Buying A Home * No Downpayment? No Problem! Find out how! * How A Buyer Broker Will Save You Money Hosted By: e Chris Newell* - Accredited Buyer Representative * Richard Furlong - Real Estate Lawyer *Bryan Guertin - Mortgage Broker Whére: Loblaws Milton Market When: February 25th - 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. *Pre-register at 878-4444 & receive a gift from Main Street RealtyfBetter Homes and Gardens. *Participants qualify For Closing Discounts up to $500! REGISTER WITH CHRIS NEWELL AT 878-4444 OR BY EMAIL TO: chris@new-afl.com Main Street RealtylBetter Homes and Gardens * Sales Rep