N.B. Education Minister wants contingency plan to combat school storm days

FREDERICTON – New Brunswick’s education minister wants to create a contingency plan to combat the number of school storm days in the case there’s another winter like this one.

Serge Rousselle told reporters Wednesday he’s looking to create a committee in both the English and French school systems that will look at the issue.

“This is my first winter as Minister of Education. But I want to make sure that next year, we have some kind of contingency plan to make sure that we get the best out of the situation,” he said.

“That means I’m ready to work with all partners to make sure that we do have the best contingency plan.”

School storm days are in the double digits across the province. In some areas, students have lost as many as 13 days of school.

He said it could mean that all professional development days are scheduled after March, so that they can become instructional days if the winter causes too many school closures.

“So we’ll have some kind of flexibility that we don’t have this year, because most of them are already gone,” he said.

Education critic Gary Crossman taught in the New Brunswick school system for 32 years and says this winter has been particularly bad for school cancellations.

“We can’t change the days because of the collective agreement with teachers and staff and others,” he said. “But field trips should be kept to a minimum at this time of the year and doing as much as you can to make up time in the classroom.”

Crossman said he would like to see the government’s looming 10-year education plan address the issue.