BY SANDY BEXON

Chinook’s Edge School Division and Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) Local #17 signed a collective agreement which was met with unanimous agreement from both sides.

“We are able to fulfill the mandate of our members and this agreement is what our teachers asked us to deliver,” said Kevin Pizzey, ATA Local #17 president. “We were able to achieve this in a timely manner because of the close, co-operative relationship between Chinook’s Edge teachers and our board of education. It was a unanimous vote, which is a bit unusual but very welcome. We were seventh out of 62 school divisions in the province to reach a tentative agreement, which we accomplished on Sept. 12. To pass it so smoothly continues to build on the positivity that exists between the local ATA and the Chinook’s Edge board.”

“For Chinook’s Edge, this represents three years of labour stability with a key group of our people, and this is great news for everyone in our Chinook’s Edge communities,” said Colleen Butler, chairperson of the board. “This settlement was attained much more quickly than we were expecting and we are very pleased with what we have achieved with our teachers.”