Back to School: staffing cuts, oversized classes, and Doug Ford’s corporate handouts

As the school year kicks off, multiple school secretaries have been forced out of their full-time positions and pushed into contract work. The exact same thing is happening to teachers. Meanwhile, classroom supports remain severely underfunded—especially for students with special needs. The physical risk to staff simply isn't worth the pay, considering how violent some unassisted classroom situations can become.

My friend just started working as a teacher under $70k. In this economy, that is barely enough to get by completely shutting down the "teachers are overpaid" nonsense you hear all the time. On top of that, she’s teaching a class of over 30 kids.

To make matters worse, our board isn't sending out the Staples gift cards until October, so many teachers are forced to buy basic supplies out of their own pockets right now. And for those who have received their cards? They’ve noticed the selection of eligible items on the Staples website is ridiculously overpriced. It’s nothing more than a massive corporate handout for American-owned Staples courtesy of Doug Ford.