Volunteer work banned in schools

Daphnée Dion-Viens

Thursday, 29 march, 2018 00:00

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Thursday, 29 march, 2018 00:00

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A school board prohibited the work done by volunteers after having found that the chore of painting carried out by parents in a school must be redone.

A year ago, these works, which have been made to the primary school of Saint-Sébastien, Montérégie, had made a great noise. The Commission de la construction du Québec intervened to stop the construction site, found to be illegal. The government Couillard had subsequently relaxed rules in place, in order to allow this type of voluntary work in public institutions.

However, the Commission scolaire des Hautes-Rivières has just adopted a resolution Tuesday that prohibits the voluntary work in its establishments, except as authorised by the general management. This decision was taken after it was noted that the work of painting made by parents at the primary school of Saint-Sébastien will need to be redone this year, as the paint has chipped off in some places, says its president, Andrée Bouchard. “Volunteers are welcome in our schools, but not for construction work “, she adds.

The mayor ” stunned “

For his part, the mayor of the municipality of Saint-Sébastien, Martin Thibert, do not simply return. “I’m dumbfounded, I don’t understand “, lance-t-il. Mr. Thibert was originally the last year of the chore of painting which was attended by at least thirty parents.

Martin Thibert says that the work has been supervised by the professional painters. The paint chips mentioned are only an “excuse” that doesn’t make sense, since the major part of the work of painting is not to do it again, supports the mayor.

The Federation of education support staff, affiliated to the Centrale des syndicats du Québec, we are pleased rather of a prohibition, passed by the school board. “It’s expensive, the volunteering, if it is necessary to redo the work,” says his vice-president, Melanie Renaud.

Work supervised

For its part, Andrée Bouchard clarifies that volunteer work could be permitted, provided that they are carried out under the supervision of an employee of the school board. However, the organization does not have the resources to provide this coaching, ” she says.

At the Commission scolaire Val-des-Cerfs, located in the Montérégie region, a reflection is also ongoing on this subject. The discussions aim to “regulate and restrict” the work of volunteers in the schools, which will also need to be supervised, says the director-general, Eric Root.