Trustee motion to reinstate indoor mask mandate fails at TVDSB meeting

Thames Valley District School Board failed during a special meeting of the TVDSB’s Board of Trustees on Tuesday.The meeting was called in response to a growing number of staff absences tied to illness at the TVDSB and sought to have local medical officers of health field questions related to COVID-19.Last week, TVDSB associate director Jeff Pratt told Global News, “there have been hundreds of unfilled jobs on several occasions this week.”Lambeth Public School and Sir Isaac Brock Public School were also both temporarily closed on Friday due to “operational concerns related to staffing,” before reopening on Monday.

TVDSB Board of Trustees calls special meeting as staff absences rise During Tuesday’s meeting, director of education Mark Fisher told trustees the board is currently facing “north of 1,000 total absences, which is approximately 10 per cent of our overall staff.”“We are significantly challenged by the number of unfilled (jobs) and I do not yet have an understanding or an awareness of whether or not that can be shared publicly, but we are investigating that information,” Fisher added.“The majority of that absence is due to either illness or quarantine.”Fisher says the board is using every tool available to deal with the absences, including reallocation of staff.He adds that he had a conversation with Deputy Minister of Education Nancy Naylor earlier this week to discuss options to potentially ease the workload for TVDSB staff amid the rise in absences.“One of the suggestions that we asked was could there be some more flexibility and adaptability around the (EQAO) testing windows or perhaps even a deferral of the (EQAO) testing process for this year, and that is something I’ve also encouraged through the Council.