Budget cut hits staff for special needs kids

The Prairie Spirit School Division is cutting all six of its educational associate staff for 10 special needs children in preschools and daycares.

That “difficult” decision is the result of a $7.1 million budget shortfall, said John Kuzbik, director of education for the school division, which encircles Saskatoon and includes Warman and Martensville, stretching as far north as Leask.

The move will save the district about $200,000, he said.

The school division had been providing the services to help better prepare those children to be successful in school, he said.

“Where we are right now, we do not have the funding to continue to provide resources to programs that we’re not being funded for.”

The health and education ministries will have to provide the money instead, Kuzbik said.

The division is investigating whether any of the affected children can attend in-school pre-kindergarten programs.

It’s also reviewing all staff and program areas, and those decisions will be finalized in the June budget, Kuzbik said.

Two days before the provincial budget, the school board sent home letters with students saying it expected a $6-million shortfall next year, and that the quality of education could suffer as a result.

The government disputes the claim that Prairie Spirit faces a shortfall. Area MLAs took out advertisements saying they disagree with the division’s calculations.