All the schools in the Â鶹´«Ã½AV East Cornerstone School Division and the Holy Family Roman Catholic Separate School Division will be closed today (Wednesday) and Thursday.
Due to the two-day strike action being taken by the teachers across the province, it was deemed necessary to close the school facilities in the interest of student safety and well-being.
The strike will involve approximately 13,000 educators province-wide who are protesting the stalled contract negotiations. Teachers have been without a contract since August of last year and are currently seeking a wage hike of approximately 16 per cent over three years while a current counter offer from the Ministry of Education and the Saskatchewan School Boards Association rests at around six per cent over the three years. The teachers are being represented at the negotiating table by the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation.
The action will affect all 38 school facilities in the Cornerstone (public) school system and the six schools administered by Holy Family.
Both divisions issued advisories regarding the impending closures last Friday, reminding parents and guardians to make alternative arrangements for the care of their children on those two days.
All extracurricular school activities are also cancelled due to the strike action and school buses will not be running for these two days.
The teachers have withdrawn their professional and voluntary services during the two-day strike but it is expected they will return to the classrooms to resume normal scheduled activities on Friday, May 27.
