School board trustees are facing busy term
Education Minister Don Morgan said he and his staff will reach out to new school board trustees around Saskatchewan, who should be ready to “roll-up their sleeves and get to work.”
Thanking all the candidates for their work during the campaign, he said the Ministry of Education will soon solidify exactly what the “transformational change” it’s planning for the education sector will look like.
“I’ve made no secret of this,” he said. “Our province has got a fall-off in revenue of $1 billion, so we need to look at what the efficiencies are and how we can do things better.”
Morgan said the upcoming term will be busy for trustees, working with the ministry to complete construction and open new joint-use schools and receive the recommendations of an education funding review spearheaded by Dan Perrins, executive-in-residence at the Johnson- Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.
“There’s final drafts, or semifinal drafts, that are floating around,” he said, adding he wants to incorporate potential recommendations into next year’s budget.
Morgan has already said a panel will consult with school divisions about school board amalgamation, but noted the ministry will also examine student transportation and local collective bargaining agreements for school staff.
“One of the things that I want to achieve is that we get some parity across the divisions for all the teachers in the province, rather than having a variety of local contracts,” he said.
In Saskatoon, a majority of incumbent trustees will return to their seats; only Ward 4 trustee Dan Danielson was toppled by a challenger after 16 years of service.
“The 2016 election is over and the people have spoken. Unfortunately their message is not what I had hoped to hear,” Danielson said in a statement on his Facebook page, thanking his supporters and volunteers.
“I believe I have stood my ground on complicated and sometimes controversial issues saying what I felt needed to be said or asking a question that needed to be asked.”
Trustee-elect Cameron Scott, who will be sworn in at the public board’s inaugural meeting on Nov. 1, said he was eager to work with fellow trustees and all levels of government on major projects ahead.
Scott said he was “absolutely astonished” and honoured by the outpouring of support from the community, and was “speechless” after he beat Danielson by 490 votes.
He’ll work with the community and staff to ensure the division runs as efficiently as possible, he said.
“In today’s tough economic climate, we need to be using our resources, like our teachers in our community, to help to make sure they’re running efficient programs and bringing a good service to our children and to our community.”