NDP to spend $15M for smaller class sizes

WINNIPEG — Manitoba children will soon have more space to learn in.

The province is spending $15 million to renovate or build 28 classrooms.

Premier Greg Selinger made the announcement at John de Graff school on Louelda Street on Wednesday morning.

The money will be divided among 18 schools across southern Manitoba.

The cash will help the NDP government keep its 2011 election promise to reduce class sizes in the youngest grades:

• 90 per cent of the kindergarten to Grade 3 classrooms within a school division will be required to be cap compliant by having 20 or fewer students.
• 10 per cent of kindergarten to Grade 3 classrooms within a school division will be permitted to exceed the 20 pupil cap; however, no kindergarten to Grade 3 classrooms will be permitted to exceed a class size of 23 pupils.
• Where Grade 3 students are combined with students in higher grades, those classrooms will be subject to a 23 student class-size cap. These classrooms will not be counted in a school division’s 90-10 cap compliance count; however, divisions will be required to report publicly on the number of students in classrooms where Grade 3 students have been combined with students in higher grades.

Here is a list of the 28 schools affected by Wednesday’s announcement: