Teachers’ federation launches ad campaign over education funding

“When we’re talking about the operating funding, it’s looking at the support that is available within schools. So, in some places in the province, this might mean that they need to hire additional school staff, like teachers, so that they can reduce their class sizes. Maybe it’s hiring additional professional support that is available within school divisions, like occupational therapists, educational psychologists,” she continued.

“Being able to reduce those wait times and increase access to professional support is critical to a student being able to have their needs met in their public education,” Becotte said.

While that individual number might not be massive, Becotte said the cost quickly adds up for a single class of students.

“If you think about $1,483 per student, and you have a class of, say, 30, that’s $45,000 that could be there to support resources or to provide additional resources within a class. If you look at two classes of 30, that’s $90,000, and maybe the school division might be able to look at how we split these two classes into three, possibly, and hire an additional teacher. Those funds aren’t available anymore, and so we see class sizes growing,” she said.

She said these changes can not only help students today but are also an investment in the future.

“What this ad campaign is intended to do is to provide an awareness of what has been lost over the course of the decade, and we as teachers know, and as parents—we know our kids only get one chance at their public education system,” said Becotte.

In a statement responding to the STF’s new ad campaign, the Ministry of Education said it is continuing to invest in education, listing funding increases and the expansion of classroom-complexity supports aimed at addressing significant enrolment growth.

“While the STF is presenting its interpretation of education funding data, government has increased investments in education and continues to make investments in Saskatchewan classrooms. Our focus remains on ensuring students receive the supports they need and that school divisions have the resources required to deliver a high-quality education,” said the ministry.

In the same statement, the government said Saskatchewan’s 27 school divisions would receive a record $2.5 billion in operating funding for the current school year. It also said average per-student funding has increased to $13,185, which is more than $400 higher than the previous school year.

“Over the past three years alone, the province has increased school operating funding by approximately 20 per cent,” according to the Ministry of Education.

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by Roman Hayter/CKOM

Teachers’ federation launches ad campaign over education funding

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