REGINA – Today’s announcement of the 2024-25 provincial budget is expected to help school boards catch up on growth and to offer a path forward to providing stability in the education sector, according to the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA).
“School boards have long been calling for predictability, sustainability and investment in education,” said Jaimie Smith-Windsor, president of the SSBA. “This budget acknowledges enrolment growth, inflationary costs, non-teacher salaries, rising costs of fuel, and includes unprecedented plans for multi-year funding, which is welcome and will support boards in planning for the future.”
Whether this budget ultimately leads to a level of funding that is sustainable and provides much-needed investment will be determined by boards over the coming weeks as they unpack the numbers. Significant capital spending announcements are certainly welcomed.
“School boards are dealing with the pressures of a growing province, which is a good thing, but we need facilities and operating budgets to support increasing numbers of students,” said Smith-Windsor. “We know building new schools and renovating schools is an important aspect. With record growth comes challenges in terms of diversity and we know education funding needs to keep pace with both growth and diversity in our province.”
Increased operating dollars for classroom supports will help meet needs that differ from community to community and division to division throughout the province.
“This is the kind of budget we need to see on a regular basis to ensure stability,” said Smith-Windsor, noting that inflation continues to be a significant pressure throughout the province on many fronts. “The multi-year commitment for classroom supports represents a floor, not a ceiling, for funding.”
The SSBA will be working with its member boards going forward to understand the implications of their budgets in the local context. Boards are starting to prepare for the 2024-25 school year, with their draft school division budgets due in the coming months.