Sask. teacher job action continues Friday with 1-day strike in Lloydminster, no extracurriculars provincewide

School will be cancelled for kids in Lloydminster, Sask., Friday, as teachers and staff in the division take to the picket lines to in the latest job action from Saskatchewan's teachers as they push for the province to include funding for class size and complexity in the next teacher contract.

"At some point this minister is going to have to start taking the process seriously and start trying to find solutions," said Samantha Becotte, the president of the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF), at the Legislative Building Wednesday.

 "We're here, we're ready to find solutions, we're ready to work together."

Teachers from the Lloydminster Public, Lloydminster Catholic and Horizon school divisions will participate in the strike.

Meanwhile, teachers provincewide will refuse to participate in extracurricular activities Friday, as they did Thursday.

Several events, including the provincial high school basketball championship tournament Hoopla, have been disrupted by the extracurricular strike. The Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association has created a one-day replacement basketball event to take place Saturday in Moose Jaw. 

"It's unfortunate that this big tournament is cancelled, I know a lot of students were looking forward to it," said Becotte. 

"We want kids to experience all of the opportunities within school and their extracurriculars, but at the core of our business is ensuring that kids have the same skills and knowledge that is necessary to enter the workforce after high school."

The budget tabled Wednesday includes $3.3 billion for the Ministry of Education, including $2.2 billion in school operating funding for the province's 27 school divisions. 

The province also dedicated money to planning for nine new schools and two major school renovations.

"Building these new schools is going to have a significant impact in terms of making sure that students have excellent facilities to go to school in and we're handling the consequences of growth in the economy," Minister of Education Jeremy Cockrill said Wednesday. 

Bargaining on a new teacher contract remains at a standstill as both sides refuse to budge on the issues of class size and complexity. The STF has said it will return to the table if the government agrees to negotiate on these issues or go to binding arbitration on them.

The government has remained adamant that issues of class size and complexity should be dealt with at the school board level, not in the teachers' contract.

"We made additional significant investments in this year's budget and multi-level commitments with our 27 school boards," said Cockrill. "It's really time for the STF leadership to come back to the table."