18 April 2020
Since the onset of the pandemic, we have had more and more questions and answers from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. With 183 Q&A, a table of contents is now required.
Here are some new elements more relevant to school support staff.
Collecte-Info (Q12)
Administrative staff are familiar with this tool because the data must be regularly updated. It is specified that collected data transmitted within the sectors will be that which is deemed essential.
Reporting with the attendance register (Q16)
Personnel who can be called upon to fill in the attendance register are those working in the SDGUs, the administrative, technical and manual personnel. Do not hesitate to contact your local union for more details.
Hourly rates in the SDGUs (Q24)
This question has been modified with a clarification of overtime. Overtime hours in an employment contract are remunerated at the rates stipulated in one’s own collective agreement.
General adult education and vocational training (Q31 to 35)
Details of the center and distance learning exams that students will be given.
Mailings planned for certain students (Q43)
Educational kits will be mailed to students who do not have access to the Internet. Support staff may be asked to help out. School administrators will be responsible for coordinating this process.
Staffing plan and enrolment and budget statements (Q57)
Deadlines for these three processes have not been postponed.
Tests for lead in water (Q72)
School boards were given a timetable for testing to assess the concentration of lead in water. Due to supply difficulties, these deadlines have been postponed.
Assignment sessions (Q97)
With distancing regulations, it would be difficult to hold an assignment session which brings more than a hundred people together in the same room. The Ministry is assessing technological solutions that would enable school boards to proceed. Several local unions have already begun discussions with employers because it is a complex process that must be carefully prepared to ensure that everyone’s rights are respected.
Cautiously developed staffing plans? (Q98)
Since the reopening of schools has not yet been announced, staffing plans might be cautiously developed by only renewing permanent positions and adding hours only once the schools are open. The Ministry is analyzing the situation, but this approach is worrisome.
Name changes on school tax invoices (Q106)
Even though the Ministry was considering extensions of the Bill 40 deadlines, deadlines for name changes will remain June 15 for Francophone school boards and November 5 for Anglophone school boards. The name “school board” will be replaced by “service center” on the next school tax invoices.