The director of education for the Hastings Prince Edward District School Board said the board will be prepared to guide students and their families through looming job action at the provincial level.

Katherine McIver said Thursday morning she is hopeful that there will be a settlement coming out of negotiations between the Canadian Union of Public Employees and the provincial government later in the day to avoid a potential strike on Friday.

Speaking to 95.5 Hits FM’s Mark and Charity Mornings, McIver said the board will make sure that each family gets notification via email, letter, or telephone regarding Friday’s plan.

“If there is a strike, we are going to have to close our schools to students. Our educators will be in touch with families about what learning may look like should this continue into next week,” she said.

However, CUPE has stated no matter what happens Thursday, its workers will walk off the job Friday and remain on strike until a fair deal is reached.

CUPE has stated its 55,000 total workers will strike despite the introduction of a bill by the Ontario government that will likely be passed tomorrow to impose a contract on the education workers and ban them from striking upon threat of steep fines.

McIver reminded the school community and the public at large that this is an ever-changing situation and the board is doing its best to respond to the shifting of information.

“Even since Tuesday, we've seen messaging and communication shift. We see things happening at the provincial level, because as you know, this is happening at the provincial level, not with local school boards,” McIver noted.

“We're just responding to the information making the best plan to keep students safe.

The HPEDSB currently has 585 staff members under the CUPE banner, including educational assistants, custodians, office staff, library techs, and IT workers.

McIver added the potential strike will disrupt some of the daycare programs that run in public schools as well.

She advises any families that use daycare programs to get in touch with their daycare provider for further information.

The Ontario Public Service Employees Union also stated Thursday that its 8,000 education workers will walk off the job Friday in solidarity with CUPE

For updates or resources, students at any of the board’s schools and their families are encouraged to monitor the HPEDSB website and social media.