With a high number of Toronto teachers reporting health concerns around returning to class in the fall because of COVID-19, Canada's largest school board is working on expanding its occasional teacher pool should a significant amount of them not want to come back.
But the head of one of the largest unions in Ontario doubts there's enough capacity to cover even a 10 per cent shortage.
Last week, the Toronto District School Board released its 73-page report into the various options of returning to school in September, which included survey results from parents, staff and students from earlier this summer.
According to the board, only 59 per cent of teaching staff said they feel comfortable moving forward with real-time teaching and learning in the fall, and the numbers were about the same for all staff returning to the workplace.
Meanwhile, 66 per cent of parents in the poll said they plan to send their kids back to school.
During a special meeting last Wednesday with TDSB trustees, it was the subject of one of the earliest questions.
"Is there another set of scenarios being planned if we do not have enough teachers to come back to fill any one of these models?" Ward 15 trustee Jennifer Story asked.
Executive Supt. Andrew Gold responded by saying daily occasional teachers have been laid off since early April and work is being done to refill the pool.
"Both teaching offices have been doing a much heavier number of interviews remotely to add to a pool of candidates," he said. "It will be through occasional teachers and we are doing work to make sure that the rosters are in very healthy shape, come September."
"Fingers crossed," Story answered.
The current pool and future goal for it wasn't available as of publication, but the president of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario said even if 10 per cent of teachers said they wouldn't come back, he doesn't see how there would be enough to fill that gap.
"No," Hammond said, adding while occasional teachers and ECEs are more than capable of filling in regardless of the time frame, it's a quantity issue. "Boards know that they don't have the numbers of occasional teachers to cover any gap that might be there."
"I think boards are looking at all of the options, but I don't think that there are the numbers of occasional teachers and occasional ECEs to fill the gaps if that were to happen."
While a lot can occur between now and September when it comes putting teachers at ease, Hammond said it would require more funding of PPE and staffing.
"If the minister of education and the government stepped up and said we are going to cover those costs, we will work with the school boards, I think you would see those numbers change," he said.
The board also cited hiring as a major financial concern, specifically if the board has to go with a hybrid system, inevitably leading to more classrooms to accommodate smaller class sizes.
The TDSB said in its report that 15-student cohorts with class ending earlier in the day because of less prep time for teachers would require 988 more teachers at a cost of $98 million dollars.
The board says the other option of longer days for more prep time would require 2,489 more teachers at an estimated cost of almost $250 million.
Premier Doug Ford responded to those numbers last Wednesday, pointing to the government's June announcement of $736 million for the 2020-2021 school year, raising the overall funding to $25.5 billion.
"We always value their (TDSB) input and all the other boards right across the province, but just keep in mind that the TDSB is going to get $55 million more than they did last year and within that $55 million, there's $23 million allocated to hire more teachers," he said, reiterating the government's goal of kids back in class five days a week.
As for how ETFO would respond if the union agreed with the government and school board that it was safe to re-enter and a teacher still refused, Hammond said it's too early to say.
"We'll have to deal with that kind of a situation as we get closer to opening in September," he said. "The last thing that we want or I want is our members and/or students going into a situation that's unsafe."
But employment lawyer Howard Levitt points out the ministry of labour has the final word.
"The ultimate arbiter is a health and safety inspector for the ministry of labour and they determine it," he said. "Of the contests so far, the inspectors have ruled in employers favour about 98 per cent of the time in Ontario."