With the threat of a full shutdown of Ontario schools Friday still looming, it’s time for teacher unions and the province to put student needs ahead of costs and settle their labour dispute, says the 17-year-old president of the Ontario Student Trustees’ Association (OSTA), which represents two million public and Catholic pupils.

“These things should not continue to happen,” said Sally Meseret of a plan by Ontario’s public, Catholic and French-language school teachers to walk off the job for one day.

She said teachers and Education Minister Stephen Lecce need to ask themselves, “Is what is taking place in the best interest of students? Is there anything we can do to make sure we prioritize students? Are we focusing on students or are we focusing on other matters in education?”

The student association released its recommendations Tuesday regarding the spending it wants to see in the next provincial budget — items that reflect concerns about a lack of mental health supports, access to school nutrition programs, special education and online learning.

On Wednesday, the government and two teacher unions — representing those in Catholic and French-language boards — returned to the bargaining table at the request of the mediator.

Talks continued late into the night Wednesday and were to resume Thursday.

However, if no deals are reached before Friday, both unions will take part in the mass strike of 200,000 teachers, early childhood educators and support staff.

Friday’s walkout will be the first time in more than 20 years that teachers from the public, Catholic and French school systems have legally hit the picket lines en masse. Union leaders said last week it was a united effort to reach a deal after their last contract expired in August.

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Meseret, a student in the Durham District School Board, said the ongoing dispute — which has kept elementary and high school students at home for one to two days each week this year — is putting students’ education in jeopardy. Even Grade 12 students like herself, who have already submitted their university applications, are worried.

“Grade 12 is supposed to be that crowning year after 12 years in the system. We’re not just worried about ourselves. We’re looking to students just coming into high school. They’re in Grade 8. What is the impact of this strike action on students that are just entering the system,” said Meseret, who says her younger siblings in elementary school are also missing classroom time.

Both the government and teachers need to look at education as an investment rather than a cost, she said, citing research showing a relationship between education and reduced social welfare and health care spending.

“It’s not a matter of if the money is going to be spent, it’s a matter of when the money is going to be spent and it’s better to do it up front,” Meseret said.

The trustees association’s 30-page budget submission is based on a January survey of students across the province and is meant to put the needs of students in a budget. The budget includes the everyday concerns students have and why it should be taken into consideration.

Premier Doug Ford said “these strikes are impacting families. They’re impacting the economy right across Ontario. When people can’t go to work, it costs them money, and that’s not fair to the families and it’s not fair to the kids.”

He said the government wants “a deal that keeps the kids in the classroom. I keep repeating that. We want a deal to make sure that kids are in the classroom day in and day out.”

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But NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said “what parents want is an end to the cuts. They don’t want to see classroom sizes balloon. They don’t want to see mandatory online learning. They don’t want to see supports for kids at high risk to be removed. They want to see the quality of education in this province protected.”

Student trustees are also urging the government to provide more resources in the upcoming spring budget, including:

More mental health supports for students, especially in the north and southwestern parts of the province.

A continued commitment to addressing a $16.3-billion backlog of capital repairs in schools.

More investments in online learning to meet increasing demand for students who choose elearning. OSTA has already rejected the provincial plan to make two online credits mandatory in Ontario schools.