Sask. gov't announces $40M for school divisions, teacher's federation says it's not enough
CBC
The Saskatchewan government announced Thursday that it's giving an additional $40 million to the province's school divisions to support enrolment growth and "the complexity of today's classrooms" in the 2023-24 year.
The move comes after teachers called for more money to keep up with inflation, enrolment and the complex needs of some students.
The Saskatchewan Federation of Teachers (STF) told CBC News Thursday afternoon that it's very disappointed with the amount of funding.
"The premier and the [education] minister said we've been heard after the rally for public education where over 3,500 people gathered," said STF president Samantha Becotte.
"And $40-million is simply not enough to meet the needs of schools and students in Saskatchewan."
Becotte highlighted a report from the Fraser Institute that said per-student funding in Saskatchewan has seen the province go from first among provinces in 2012-13 to sixth in 2019-20. It said an increase of more than $400 million would be needed to restore per-student funding to what it was in 2012-13.
Becotte said the STF does not expect the province to get to $400 million right away, but that the government needs to get serious about getting to that number, as inflation and enrolment increases continue to hit schools hard.
The province's $40 million will be split in two, with $20 million to address enrolment growth and $20 million to hire classroom and other support staff.
"This funding will be provided to school divisions to hire resources such as teachers, educational assistants, speech language pathologists, counsellors, educational psychologists or other supports as required," the province said in a news release.
But Becotte said that money will not go far.
"We have 27 school divisions. If you divide that evenly, which we know it's not likely going to be divided evenly among all of the school divisions, they're getting less than $1 million [for new hiring]. Essentially you're going to get less than 10 professionals per school division."
Education Minister Dustin Duncan announced the funding news at Bishop Filevich Ukrainian Bilingual School in Saskatoon Thursday afternoon while surrounded by children in the gymnasium.
He said the province will review extra funding needs as time goes on.
"We're certainly willing to work with [the school divisions] to ascertain if this a function of two years of COVID, where we had no immigration, and so now we're seeing this high influx of new students because we're getting through a backlog of immigration
Scientists say they know why pregnant women may reach for a THC gummy or joint.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he's not worried about the prospect of increased oil production from Venezuela challenging Canada's energy exports because Canadian oil is cheaper, cleaner and lower-risk.
The District of Vanderhoof, says it is now feeling the full financial impacts of Canfor’s 2024 Plateau sawmill closure and is facing a substantial loss of tax revenue for 2026.
As part of a series of concerts scheduled around the city in the lead up to the Juno Awards, Rollie Pemberton is excited to “hype up Hamilton as a really great music city,” and debut some new tunes.
It was a rocky year for Windsor. But it was a good year for minivans built in Canada's car capital.
An international organization that often finds itself at the centre of human rights conflicts in developing countries has turned its attention to a small town in southwest Nova Scotia.
Tuesday is expected to be a slippery one as Environment Canada is warning freezing rain is expected over the course of several hours.
Bishop Joseph Dabrowski is moving on from the Diocese of Charlottetown in early February to continue his work in Ontario.
The catchphrase going into Tuesday's coalition of the willing meeting on Ukraine in Paris appears to be: expect the unexpected.
A regime change in Venezuela could both help that country regain its former prominence as an oil producer and pose a threat to Canada’s industry, which is producing record amounts of oil and is expected to continue to grow for several more years.
Health Canada says it is reviewing nine submissions for generic versions of popular weight loss medications that pharmaceutical experts say could bring down the price.
Premier Doug Ford says he will make changes to residential recycling collection if needed after the province's newly privatized system had a rough start in Toronto, with some full blue bins sitting uncollected as of Monday.
Drivers in Ontario caught operating a vehicle while impaired will face tougher penalties that no longer need the determination of a judge.