A total of 8.5 teaching positions are affected by the cuts. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

Teacher reductions

NLSD cuts teacher positions in several northern communities

May 15, 2019 | 5:13 PM

There will be less teachers in Northern Lights School Division (NLSD) classrooms next fall as a drop in the number of students leads to a reduction in staff.

That’s according to Director of Education Jason Young, who stated there are about 200 fewer students currently enrolled in the school division when compared to previous years. As a result, eight and a half teaching positions were cut with Young noting the affected teachers coming from communities throughout the North. He added the reduction wasn’t overly problematic as they were mostly covered through retirements, resignations and transfers.

“They were all teaching positions and obviously the school-based administrator needs to determine what their needs are as they deploy staff for the following year,” Young said. “They review their staffing needs and make their decisions based on the allocations they receive from the school division.”

There can be a number of reasons for the drop in the number of students. Young stated reasons could include families moving out of the North for jobs and parents sending their children to on-reserve schools. Overall, he mentioned there are many students in the division who are transient and only stay for a brief time.

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“We didn’t experience that challenge where we have to move a number of employees or transfer them to different locations,” Young said. “There were a couple instances we needed to do that, but for the most part, just through attrition it seemed to work out for some of these cuts.”

The 2017-2018 NLSD annual report shows a year-over-year decline of about 100 students with 4,124 in 2018 and 4,210 in 2017. There was also a drop of about 30 pre-Kindergarten students.

As for the school year starting in the fall, he stated it remains to be seen if the staffing reductions will impact the overall number of vacancies. The division is currently in the midst of filling open positions for the fall and administration will have a better idea of any impact later this summer. Young noted he’s optimistic all positions will be filled.

“I appreciate our staff who have had to think of ways to make our resources stretch,” he said. “I appreciate everyone’s efforts to think more economically.”

There are currently 23 teaching positions open on the Northern Lights School Division website, but teachers have until the end of May to submit their resignations. Nine positions are open in La Ronge and eight are open in La Loche.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno