School divisions in Saskatchewan aren’t being amalgamated and elected board trustees are here to stay. However, there are still significant changes coming to education in the provincial budget.
A new amendment to the Education Act will give the minister additional power and authority to issues directives to the province’s 28 school boards.
“Our goal is to make sure that the money the taxpayers of this province provide goes into the classroom. We want to make sure that governance and administration costs are reduced,” Education Minister Don Morgan said.
In addition to directives related to spending, the minister would be able to issue similar measures relating to the number of approved trustees and their compensation level.
Additionally, Morgan wants to see more co-operation between the school divisions on issues like procuring resources. He also wants to see kids from Catholic and public school divisions take the same buses to the new joint-use schools.
Saskatchewan School Board Association president Shawn Davidson said they’re looking forward to working with the ministry, but he doesn’t want to see divisions lose their autonomy.
“The reason why local boards are elected is because our ratepayers in our communities want to see an elected trustee that makes decisions about their kid’s futures,” Davidson said.
Education critic Carla Beck argues that this amendment will limit the decision-making ability of school boards.
“These efficiencies can be found without this very heavy-handed legislation. School boards were already finding those efficiencies. When they were tasked with finding five million dollars they found 15 million dollars,” Beck said.
School divisions are going to need to find even more savings this year. The school board’s operating budget is $1.86 billion, a $22 million decrease over last year.
“A funding reduction in the face of expenditure increases with population growth and such… It’s not an easy thing,” Davidson said.
Davidson said the various boards are going over their funding packets and decisions are pending.
Morgan said that the ministry will work with divisions to find the necessary savings. He wants most of it to be on the administrative end and not the classrooms.
“The direction that we gave them was that they not hire any further people right now. That they use attrition that at the end of the year when retirements come up, and work through whatever retirements are there,” Morgan said.
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