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Collective Bargaining eNews: #ETFO teachers & occasional teachers begin central strike action Mon, May 11 http://t.co/OlkMpBVH5W #IamETFO — ETFO (@ETFOnews) May 5, 2015

Daycare workers in public schools would not be part of the province-wide strike starting May 11.

“We have not talked about compensation. We haven’t talked about any monetary issues,” ETFO president Sam Hammond said last week in an interview. In announcing the strike, ETFO cited disputes over class size, an increase in administrator positions and changes that would affect teachers’ autonomy in the classroom as key issues.

Catholic teachers in the English system could join them in June. But students in Durham, where teachers started picketing April 20 and children are now in the third week without classes, have taken the brunt so far.

For Grade 12 students, it’s worse. They are worried about credits and being ready to start college or university in the fall.

And then there are the less tangible moments of the final few months of high school, filled with farewell concerts, day trips and proms.

“One of the main reasons I enjoy school is due to the extra-curriculars,” said Dimitri Seemungal, a grade 12 student from Durham, in an email. He’s in choirs and other performing arts and the end-year music night is currently postponed. “My chances of singing a solo for the final year are put in jeopardy!”

He was looking forward to a planned choir trip to Canada’s Wonderland.

“The strike possibly puts in jeopardy (an) English credit, which is a pre-requisite for my university program,” he added.

Michael Barrett, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, which represents boards at the central table, and chair of the Durham District School Board, understands Seemungal’s fears. He’s a dad to a grade 12 student whose teachers are on strike.