Archives for February 2024

The following statement is attributable to Jaimie Smith-Windsor, president of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association:
• 80 per cent of grants to school boards are allocated to staff salaries and benefits.
• Boards believe in local decision-making, as communities in Saskatchewan are very diverse.
• We have urban, rural, and northern divisions all with unique characteristics and needs.
• Boards believe class complexity should be dealt with at a local level and not in a provincial CBA.
• Building on Government’s recent funding commitment of $53.1 million, a dedicated fund for local boards will be established to address classroom complexity.
• Local committees representing local teachers’ associations, trustees, and senior administration will be established to identify and address priorities.
• A framework for reporting will be developed by the Boards of Education, the Ministry of Education, and the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, with a mandate to report at the local level and to aggregate at the provincial level as part of the Provincial Education Plan.
• We believe this meets the needs of students and addresses the concerns of teachers.
• This opportunity, outside of bargaining, allows the parties to return to the table.
• We look forward to continued collaboration with our partners, and further, to returning to the bargaining table to reach a fair and reasonable agreement.