Province announces $450K in funding for 15 new projects to be led by teachers

The Saskatchewan government announced an additional $452,206 in funding for 15 teacher-led projects approved through the Teacher Innovation and Support Fund on Thursday.

“The interest and enthusiasm for this pilot has resulted in many new ideas submitted by Saskatchewan teachers,” said Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill in a statement. “The funding of these new projects reinforces our government's commitment to providing additional classroom supports to our students and teachers.”

This round of approved projects includes funding for updating a student and staff wellness room, providing additional mental health resources for students, a carpentry apprenticeship program, supplementary English as Additional Language resources and more.

Since the fund was announced in January, over $860,000 has been allocated to projects led by teachers across the province. Working with school administration, teachers can apply for up to $75,000 to put toward projects that assist in areas such as student achievement, student and teacher wellness, and school safety.

The announcement comes during the longest string of job action by teachers in the province's history and after Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) members took to the picket line at the legislature Monday calling on the province to address issues of class complexity and composition in its collective agreement.

STF president Samantha Becotte has criticized the province's proposal to establish a fund outside of bargaining to handle class complexity and composition. In mid-february, the province offered the STF a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that commits to annualizing $53.1 million in funding. But the MOU is not legally binding and can be cancelled be either party with 12 months written notice.

The STF remains firm on its belief that funding outside of the contract will not be effective enough to properly address the issues plaguing students and teachers and is at risk of disappearing without accountability.

At the legislature on Thursday, Cockrill told reporters that there is conditional funding in the upcoming provincial budget to hire additional education assistants, for pilot projects and for several school divisions to ensure they're hiring specific support.

KAYLE NEIS Premier Scott Moe says he deserves to be trusted due to his commitment to education in the past. He notes the first decision he made in February 2018, as the leader of the party and the premier of the province, was to add $30 million to the education budget.