Hirings provide stopgap relief in schools

The 32.5 full-time equivalent positions the Regina Public School Division plans to add “ASAP” will provide short-term relief for strained classrooms.

With the $868,072 it received from the provincial government last month, the school division will hire (through June):

8.5 teachers to relieve classrooms with a high student-teacher ratio 12 educational assistants two speech language pathologists to work with early years students

one Indigenous advocate in elementary

one high school teacher to re-engage students who have dropped out

an educational psychologist

four staff to integrate students with behavioural needs.

Further, one teacher and two EAs will be assigned to a new junior integrated service program for Grades 5-8 students who have behavioural needs.

“ASAP. The ball is rolling on some of these hirings already,” said Mike Walter, deputy director school services, at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

Trustee Aleana Young, vice-president of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association, called these “critical places in our division to invest,” but said “strong advocacy (is) still needed going forward.”

New Premier Scott Moe announced a $7.5-million mid-year funding adjustment for Saskatchewan school divisions on Feb. 6, and has promised an increased investment in education of $30 million in 2018-19.

However, the 2017-18 provincial budget left school divisions with a $54-million funding shortfall.

“That is still a significant shortfall from what the reduction was last year,” said director of education Greg Enion.

Regina Public is hiring the 32.5 FTE staff on a 3 1/2-month basis. Some positions will be filled by substitutes or staff who previously worked on contract.

“Really, the reason we’re able to do this is because we’re looking at what’s remaining of March, April, May and June, right?” said Enion.

“I would really hope that we would be able to keep these positions going next year, but I highly doubt it. Because of our enrolments going up, I think these are simply short-term relief positions.”

Enion anticipates an enrolment increase of at least 400 students next year, “so we’re very concerned that we’re not going to be able to meet the needs of our students going into the next year’s budget.”

The Regina public school board dealt with a $9.5-million shortfall in its 2017-18 budget to meet the status quo.

The Regina Catholic School Division is still determining how it will spend the $451,700 it received in the funding adjustment.