Teachers’ sick calls up since COVID, putting big dent in city school board budgets Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
By: Maggie Macintosh Posted: 7:37 PM CDT Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023

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This article was published 16/08/2023 (1131 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A surge in sick calls from teachers has taken a toll on the bottom line in school boards across the city.

In St. James-Assiniboia, substitute costs in 2020-21 — a year of stop-and-go remote learning — rose $2.3-million above the five-year average leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic.

New compensation data obtained by the Free Press reveals the extent to which public schools across Winnipeg have relied on fill-in employees in recent years.

During the first full school year after the pandemic was declared, the St. James Assiniboia School Division spent more than $3.9 million on paying substitutes to cover classes.

That budget item was, on average, just over $1.6 million annually between 2014-15 and 2018-19.

Notably, the data excludes the hefty sums that divisions have spent to cover absences by hiring extended-term substitute teachers, and reflect sizable salary settlement adjustments that were agreed upon across boards in 2021.

“If there’s one thing that the pandemic certainly has really brought attention to, it’s the whole idea that teachers need to look out for their own health and well-being,” said Kent McPherson, president of the St. James Teachers’ Association.

“Oftentimes — and I can speak for myself on this — I’ve gone to work when I probably shouldn’t have (in the past), when I was sick or coming down with something.”

Since March 12, 2020, when the first COVID-19 case was detected in Manitoba, public health officials have urged people to stay home if they are feeling unwell, especially if any flu-like symptoms are present.

Positive tests and travel rules have required varying self-isolation stints since the initial lockdown. During the height of the pandemic, all members of a household were asked to isolate if even a single resident was experiencing any symptoms.

Principals and other workplace leaders have continued to echo chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin’s “stay home” tagline, but whether that message will affect employee habits in the long term remains to be seen.

“If there’s one thing that the pandemic certainly has really brought attention to, it’s the whole idea that teachers need to look out for their own health and well-being.”–Kent McPherson

The SJASD and Louis Riel School Division spent less on substitutes last year than they did early on in the pandemic.

Communications officer Michelle Lancaster said SJASD redirected substitute funds to hire 15 full-time supply teachers — extended-term subs — in early 2023 to alleviate elementary school pressures due to heightened respiratory virus activity in the winter.

Louis Riel’s mid-pandemic expenses peaked at $3.6 million in 2021-22, an increase from the division’s pre-COVID average of $3.2 million.

“There are fewer absences for reasons like professional learning because of the higher number of absences due to illness, and so that’s important to note, as well,” said LRSD superintendent Christian Michalik.

Despite signs the pandemic’s disruptions are lessening, Michalik noted LRSD has budgeted for the coming school year with the expectation there will still be more staff absenteeism than was the case previously.

The River East Transcona, Seven Oaks and Winnipeg divisions documented record overall payments last year.

WSD, Manitoba’s largest, spent upwards of $8 million on substitutes in 2022-23, up from $6.8 million one year prior and a five-year, pre-pandemic average of $6.5 million annually.

Pembina Trails indicated its board office would release substitute costs only for the most recent school year following an autumn audit.

A combination of strong public health messaging and the growing normalization of mental-health discussions across society have led to an increase in sick time usage and resulting demand for substitutes over the last three years, said Nathan Martindale, president of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society.

Alongside physical ailments such as sprained ankles and common colds, exhaustion and anxiety are being more widely accepted as valid illnesses under an expanded definition of health and wellness, Martindale said.

Retired teacher David Harkness has picked up classroom shifts — there has been an abundance — throughout and following the pandemic.

COVID-19 has shone a light on the key role of substitutes and working-condition challenges, said Harkness, who advocates for substitutes through the Retired Teachers’ Association of Manitoba.

While many retirees are “fairly comfortable,” with returning to a classroom now, he said individuals who face a higher risk of severe health outcomes after contracting the virus remain wary of returning to a school this fall, even if they have received five COVID vaccinations.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca