At this point we can't say how many teachers will be on those buses, or if your childrens' teacher will be there. What we do know is that the board of school managers met this morning to discuss the likelihood that a vast number of teachers will not be in their classrooms tomorrow. President Carol Babb says they haven't been formally asked by the Teacher's Union to close down schools - so officially there will be school tomorrow. But as we mentioned earlier, un-officially - some students have already been told by their teachers to stay home tomorrow. If it sounds confusing - it is. Clemente Wade manages 123 Catholic schools across the country and this evening he told us even he isn't sure if there'll be school tomorrow.
Clemente Wade, General Members of Catholic Schools
"For all practical purposes, I have not been contacted by the union. I have not been contacted by anybody to tell me that the teachers will be having, will be getting out of school tomorrow. I had a communication yesterday evening from the NTUCB in which they sought permission for us to give our teachers leave to have a demonstration. However, no Teacher's Union representative, neither Mrs. Smith that is the President or any of her officers, have come to see me to say anything about it so I don't know, I am in a quandary. I probably will know what happened on the news."
Keith Swift,
So your advice to parents tonight will be?
Clemente Wade,
"My advice to parents tonight is I hold principals, and I think they are all responsible people, and if principals know that more than half their teachers are not going to be in school then most naturally they are supposed to, because they are responsible people and we hold them in high esteem, they are supposed to tell parents well, 'look we will only have x amount of teachers in school tomorrow so we would advise you to keep your children at home.' That is all I can say. At this time I don't have the slightest idea what is happening."
Keith Swift,
But these principals report to you right?
Clemente Wade,
"Yes they are supposed to report to management on a whole if they plan to do something as drastic as closing down a school and up to now no principal has responded to me, no union representative, nobody. So we are like the general public out there, we are going to look at Channel 5 or Channel 7 or whatever channel tonight and try to find out what is going on. So we are left totally in the dark too."
President of the School Managers Association Carol Babb also told us that teachers who don't report to work tomorrow - will be absent at their own personal risk.
So should you send your child to school or not? The best we could get form the teachers union is that you should do as the class teacher or principal has instructed. If they say, "stay home" - that means that homeroom teacher will be out; if they say "report to school," that means most likely that teacher will not be leaving to protest. Shaky advice, but in a time of uncertainty it's the best anyone has got, it seems.
