‘New relationship’ between teachers, ministry as education cash flows
The announcement of $7.5 million in mid-school year funding for Saskatchewan’s education sector is good news for the province’s school divisions and signals the start of a “new relationship” between Saskatchewan teachers and the province’s education ministry, officials say.
On Tuesday, Premier Scott Moe and Education Minister Gordon Wyant detailed the mid-year funding, which is an early piece of $30 million promised in the upcoming provincial budget as part of a campaign commitment. The first $7.5 million is being made available for boards immediately to “assist in dealing with front line pressures.”
“This amount ... while it seems small, it goes a long way to signalling a new relationship and recognizing (the government’s) commitment to even more funds in the March or April budget,” said Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation president Patrick Maze.
Saskatchewan’s education sector saw funding reduced by 6.7 per cent in the 2017-18 budget. Both the Saskatchewan School Boards Association and the STF recently said another year of flat, or status quo, funding for the sector would have a negative impact on students and the classroom.
“It’s good to see that the premier and the minister of education are actually starting to follow through with the commitment they made through their campaign and putting education as a priority when it comes to funding,” said Ray Morrison, chair of Saskatoon public, the province’s largest school division.
He said the division would be receiving roughly $940,000 of the $7.5 million. While trustees still need to discuss where to allocate funding around the board table, Morrison said it will likely be used to “relieve some of the pressures that were created in the classrooms from K-12 in our system” as a result of last year’s budget.
Katherine Gagne, chair of the Regina Public Schools, said immediate funding for their division of roughly $868,000 will go to front-line services, saying it may bring a renewed energy to upcoming meetings. “One thing I know for certain is this will be one our best executive meetings our administration has had in a while to determine where they’re going to put new money,” she said. “How it’s going to be allocated? I can’t say for certain. But I know that they’ll be meeting right away and determining where best to put it.”
Saskatoon Catholic (GSCS) board chair Diane Boyko said she feels the new funding, of which the GSCS will receive $697,000, signals a “change in attitude” for the provincial government. “This is a really good step in restoring the trust of boards, of parents and educators with the ministry and the government,” Boyko said.
Rob Bresciani, chair of the Regina Catholic School Division, was unavailable for comment. A statement from Regina Catholic, which is set to receive $451,700, said additional funding is “very helpful.”