Rocky View Schools reaches agreement with local teachers

The Rocky View Schools Board of Trustees has reached an agreement with the Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) Local #35 regarding a potential teachers' strike. 

This agreement comes after teachers in the Rocky View School District previously voted 99.6 per cent in favour of a government-supervised strike vote back in November. 

The original settlement proposed by the board of trustees was seen as unacceptable by the teachers involved. 

“This settlement package is completely unacceptable, and Rocky View trustees must return to the table with an intent to bargain and to improve the settlement offer. Teachers are being left with no options. We are feeling extremely disrespected, and we are not prepared to take an inferior offer just because the board refuses to listen to teachers' concerns. The board is telling us to settle for an inadequate agreement or go on strike, but we refuse to be coerced,” said Amrit Rai Nannan, President of Rocky View Local No, 35, in a previous statement. 

Teachers working in the Rocky View School district were also left with unresolved issues such as working conditions for online teachers, compensation for school administrators, and recognition for long service.  

“We are very pleased to have reached an agreement with our local Alberta Teachers Association that addresses what we heard was important to RVS teachers within the matters permitted to be bargained locally. We deeply appreciate the passion, expertise, and hard work RVS teachers bring to their schools and classrooms every day. We value all RVS teachers for their important contributions to students’ success, and we hope this agreement is a positive step forward,” said Board Chair Fiona Gilbert in a statement. 

The Board of Trustees coming to an agreement marks the end of the bargaining process, which had seen the teachers in Rocky View working without any form of finalized agreement since September 2020. 

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