Teachers told get involved in leadership races

STF says helping to elect next premier best way to increase education funding

As the debate over education funding continues, the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF) is encouraging its members to join political parties in order to choose the next premier.

STF president Patrick Maze says his organization’s approach with the current Saskatchewan Party government “simply hasn’t worked” and he now wants members “to get actively involved” in the Sask. Party’s and NDP’s ongoing leadership races.

He contends it’s a “non-partisan” initiative, but he wants all candidates in those races to declare their policies on education.

It’s the latest move this week by the STF: Maze spent Monday declaring there are 181 fewer teachers in the province this year compared to last year because of the Sask. Party’s budget cuts to education.

Education Minister Bronwyn Eyre is casting doubt on those numbers, saying it may include superintendents (the STF says it doesn’t) and that “it’s important to wait and see” what the ministry’s own numbers say when they’re made available in a few weeks.

This year, funding to school divisions dropped by roughly three per cent from the year prior — resulting in $54.2 million less money in classrooms over the course of the current school year.

School divisions are partially funded by education property taxes, which rose 10 per cent this year, raising an additional $67 million.

A recent Sask. Party change resulted in that money being directed to its general coffers, rather than going directly to education.

Maze and the Opposition NDP contend education funding should have gone up as a result of the $67 million extra in taxes, not down.

“I think it would come as a surprise to people across the province, property owners who saw the education property tax portion of their property tax go up, collectively to the tune of $67 million, that the school in their neighbourhood, and all the schools in the province, collectively saw their funding reduced by $54 million,” said NDP education critic Carla Beck.

Eyre says the money raised by property taxes “goes back into” the $1.9-billion education budget.

In a followup email, a spokesperson from the province wrote that Eyre simply meant that, when you have a $1.9-billion budget, and you collect $750 million in education property tax, all of the $750 million goes back into education, plus hundreds of millions more.