Seven Oaks may cut teachers, programs as superintendent says rising costs exceed province's funding

The Seven Oaks School Division is considering teacher and programming cuts in the upcoming school year as the superintendent says provincial funding isn't keeping up and costs are still rising.

Earlier this month, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko announced school divisions across Manitoba would get an increase of at minimum 2.5 per cent in operating dollars for the upcoming year, while some would get more.

However, Seven Oaks superintendent Brian O'Leary said based on his calculations, Seven Oaks isn't meeting that minimum.

The division in Winnipeg is holding a budget meeting Monday night for families to discuss which potential cuts could be on the table. 

"We're going to bring to our community [Monday] night a lot of what I would say are unpleasant possibilities that would really diminish the quality of education and the attention that kids get," O'Leary said in an interview Sunday. 

In a letter sent home to parents Friday, the chair of the board of trustees said she expects revenues will rise by slightly more than two per cent, but enrolment is set to rise by three per cent. The letter said costs will rise even more. 

"We are now forced to contemplate further reductions including cutting teachers, eliminating programs like Learn to Swim, closing schools to after-school programs and eliminating bussing for Grade 7 to 12 students," chair Maria Santos stated in the letter. 

O'Leary said these changes could also mean larger class sizes.

"It means for the kid who's struggling, less attention. It means kids aren't known as well, it may mean fewer options, you know, and at a certain point there's a wear and tear on your staff, so they start to withdraw from some of their voluntary extracurricular involvements, which are things that kids really need."

O'Leary said the division has routinely been getting increases of half a percent to a percent while costs have escalated well beyond that.

He said the division has made significant cuts over the past few years. He said it's trimmed 25 non-teaching positions, a dozen education assistants and have "frozen teaching staff while enrolment has been increasing."

The government pledged $100.2 million in new funding for kindergarten to Grade 12 schools, or a 6.1 per cent increase over the previous year, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko said during a news conference on Feb. 2. 

According to the province, Seven Oaks School Division will receive $91.7 million next year which is an increase of $3.3 million over the previous year. Seven Oaks is receiving the smallest increase — in terms of the dollar total — among all the Winnipeg-based divisions. 

In a statement to CBC News late Sunday, the education minister's office said Seven Oaks would be receiving the equivalent of a 3.8 per cent increase.