Ontario Catholic Teachers Layoff

Toronto Catholic School Board trustees voted to cut 85 jobs. This decision was made in an effort to balance their budget. The Toronto Star reports the Toronto Elementary Catholic Teachers union has said it's not fair for the board to balance the budget on the backs of its members, and said the cuts are beyond what's necessary to address declining enrolment, which this year is about 900 students across the board.
Declining enrolment, and budget shortfalls, affects many districts. It will be interesting to watch how others try to handle these issues.
And it's not just the teachers who are getting cut. Board trustees decided to: implement a 10 per cent reduction to school budgets, lay off 32 support staff, such as caretakers and secretaries, cut contract child and youth workers, and they have also agreed not to hire secondary teachers to fill job openings. Naturally this is bad news to current staff, but it will also impact the hundreds of graduates seeking jobs.
It's worth noting that Alberta is on the verge of a teacher shortage with an estimated 17,000 teachers retiring in the next 12 years.