The Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) said funding is a major concern heading into the 2018-19 fiscal year.
The SSBA said school boards are still dealing with last year’s provincial budget cuts as they work on their upcoming budgets.
“Last year’s budget cut about $55 million of funding from school division operating budgets for the 2017-18 school year and boards have worked hard to minimize the negative effects on students and staff resulting from the difficult fiscal situation,” SSBA president Shawn Davidson said in a press release.
“School boards are very concerned looking ahead to the 2018-19 year about what will result if funding levels are not restored.”
The SSBA said without restored funding, school boards will not have the resources to deal with rising enrolment.
The Opposition NDP said cuts to school boards comes at the expense of classrooms.
“We are saying, the SSBA is saying, parents are saying these cuts are hurting kids in classrooms. These cuts are seeing increased class size numbers. We are seeing decreased supports for students in the classroom,” Carla Beck, the NDP’s education critic, said.
Education Minister Bronwyn Eyre said a decision to address current funding issues has not been made.
“We are looking at potentially addressing some mid-year pressures that we see and that we hear about, and again no decisions have been made. But as I’ve mentioned, the premier, myself and cabinet are discussing this,” Eyre stated.
The SSBA said the government needs to make education a priority to not only keep up with rising enrolment, but to also ensure suitable classroom supports are in place and to keep up with inflationary pressures.
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