Hanover School Division laying off 93 EAs due to confusion over funding
CTV
The Hanover School Division is laying off 93 educational assistants, citing an "unexpected loss of federal funding for Jordan's Principle programming."
The Hanover School Division is laying off 93 educational assistants, citing an "unexpected loss of federal funding for Jordan's Principle programming."
The school division said the situation is out of its control and work is being done to secure a long-term solution.
"We recognize the significant impact this decision will have on our educational assistants, students, and school communities. Hanover School Division remains committed to supporting affected employees and minimizing disruption to student learning while continuing to advocate for students and families," the division wrote in a statement on its website.
Hanover School Division Superintendent Joe Thiessen told CTV News Winnipeg getting Jordan's Principle funding used to come through the province, but this school year funding switched to the federal government.
He said they reapplied for federal funding, but they found out too late.
"We've been able to help kids and help support children and their learning. And we acted on good faith, on information that was given to us in June to move forward as status quo. So we did that. And then when we sent them the bill, essentially for EA wages, they informed us that they had moved to a different model, federal funding model, and that's when things started to unravel," said Thiessen.
Thiessen said the layoff decision is 100 per cent a financial decision, noting wages from September until present day were over $1 million.
