REGINA – The Horizon School Division Board of Education has received the 2025 Lieutenant Governor’s Board of Education Award for Innovation and Excellence in Education for its submission of “From Field to Future: Inspiring Excellence in Agriculture Education”.

The Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) co-ordinates the Lieutenant Governor’s Award each year. The award was presented by Her Honour the Hon. Bernadette McIntyre during the SSBA’s Annual General Assembly on Monday.

“It was a pleasure to attend the SSBA assembly, and I was honoured to present the Lieutenant Governor’s Board of Education Award to the Horizon School Division Board of Education,” said Her Honour Bernadette McIntyre. “Having grown up on a farm, I am particularly impressed by Horizon’s innovative program, teaching students about agriculture and incorporating Indigenous perspectives. I congratulate Horizon on this well-deserved recognition, and I thank them for their excellence in education.”

In its application for the award, Horizon said of its submission: “This division-wide agriculture education initiative connects students with authentic, hands-on learning rooted in Saskatchewan’s economy, culture, and environment. The goal is to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing and reconciliation through land-based learning while creating clear pathways to future education, careers, and leadership in agriculture.”

“Agriculture is the heartbeat of Horizon’s communities and culture, and it is a privilege to bring that learning to life for our students,” said Linda Mattock, Board Chair. “We are honoured by this recognition, and are profoundly grateful to the Elders, partners, and educators whose commitment ensures our students learn from the land and see bright futures in Saskatchewan’s agriculture sector.”

To view a video about the award recipients, please visit: https://youtu.be/mfUGYoLvfj0

While this has been a long-standing award, this is the first time it is being recognized through the Lieutenant Governor’s office and with the new sponsorship of the Promhouse Financial Group at CIBC Wood Gundy.

At its assembly, the SSBA also recognized:
• Award of Distinction – Janet Kotylak (Prairie Valley)
• Life Member – Jaimie Smith-Windsor
• Honorary Life Member – Harry Lafond
• Degree Program Scholarship sponsored by Aon – Dani Meyer (Chinook)
• Technical/Trades Program Scholarship sponsored by Manulife – Mikeal Bird (Living Sky)

REGINA – Funds have been awarded to 15 eligible organizations across Saskatchewan to expand school food infrastructure as part of a project led by the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA).

Earlier this year, the SSBA was approved to receive $1 million in one-time federal government funding from the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) School Food Infrastructure Fund (SFIF) under the banner of Expanding school food infrastructure in Saskatchewan: Ensuring equitable reach.

“We are excited that we have been able to secure this investment to help support our overall school food programming goals,” said Dr. Shawn Davidson, president of the SSBA. “We were pleased to see strong engagement across the province from organizations working in partnership with school divisions to support our children and youth.”

Eligible recipients are community-based, not-for-profit organizations engaged with school food programs.

The funded projects support objectives related to increasing the capacity of organizations to provide or upgrade food preparation spaces, storage, equipment, and transportation/delivery that improve the food environments within schools and strengthen community food security.

In total, recipients are partnered with 18 school divisions: Chinook, Christ the Teacher, Creighton, Good Spirit, Holy Trinity, Ile-a-la Crosse, Living Sky, Northwest, North East, Prairie South, Prairie Spirit, Prairie Valley, Prince Albert Catholic, Regina Catholic, Regina Public, Saskatchewan Rivers, Saskatoon Catholic, and Saskatoon Public, and one First Nations school (Clifford Wuttunee School on Red Pheasant First Nation).

Please see the backgrounder accompanying this release for more information on the recipient projects and partnerships.

“An important focus for locally elected school boards is supporting school food programming,” said Davidson. “We know this can reduce known barriers to learning, attendance and school success.”

REGINA – School boards throughout the province will again officially recognize “Orange Shirt Day”, on Tuesday, Sept. 30, together with communities across the country, as requested annually by the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA).

Sept. 30 is also proclaimed federally in Canada as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

“The SSBA and Saskatchewan’s 27 school boards are encouraging everyone to participate in Orange Shirt Day,” said Shawn Davidson, president of the SSBA. “It represents an opportunity for expanding our understanding of history and committing to growing toward reconciliation.”

Orange Shirt Day is part of a larger movement in the country to unite in a spirit of reconciliation and hope for future generations.

Since 2016, the Government of Saskatchewan has proclaimed Orange Shirt Day every year at the SSBA’s request.

“Orange Shirt Day encourages us along the path of healing, reminding us that everyone has a role to play in reconciliation,” Education Minister Everett Hindley said. “It provides Saskatchewan residents with opportunities to acknowledge and remember the impact of residential schools on the people of our province, motivating us as we continue to work together to build safe, inclusive communities.”

REGINA – Ten schools in Saskatchewan will each receive a $15,000 grant to support student nutrition after being selected to win this year’s Mosaic School Nutrition Challenge.

“Congratulations to this year’s winning schools! Every year this challenge receives many incredible project ideas from across the province. At The Mosaic Company, our mission is to help the world grow the food it needs, we do that by producing millions of tonnes of potash that helps plants make even more food. Supporting food security through this program is an extension of that noble mission,” said Marnel Jones, Director, Government & Public Affairs.

The winning projects have goals including implementing or expanding nutrition programs, promoting cooking and gardening, enhancing facilities, increasing educational opportunities, and supporting projects with cultural components. These will be supported by the grants.

For the total of $150,000 in prizes provided by Mosaic, schools from across the province submitted their projects to compete. Schools receiving grants this year are governed by the Good Spirit, Greater Saskatoon Catholic, Holy Trinity, Living Sky, Northwest, Prairie South, Prairie Valley, Saskatoon Public and Sun West school boards.

This program began in 2006 to encourage grassroots initiatives to help improve student nutrition.

“We are grateful for Mosaic’s long-time partnership in this 19th year of the Mosaic Challenge,” said Shawn Davidson, president of the SSBA. “School food programming is a priority for our organization and central to some of our other recent initiatives. This program continues to contribute to helping to achieve our goal of reducing known barriers to learning, attendance and school success through school food programming.”

For a list of the winners, see the backgrounder accompanying this media release.

SASKATOON – School boards across Saskatchewan are pleased that provincial collective bargaining with teachers has concluded with today’s signing of a new collective agreement by the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee and the Teachers’ Bargaining Committee.

“We appreciate all the work that the parties have done to come to an agreement resulting in today’s signing in Saskatoon,” said Dr. Shawn Davidson, president of the SSBA, which represents the province’s 27 school boards.

The details of the agreement will be made public by the signing parties.

As part of the process, the SSBA appoints four individuals to represent school boards as employers on the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee, which also includes five representatives from the Government of Saskatchewan as the funder of education.

“We know there has been a lot of attention on the negotiation of this agreement, within our sector and from members of the public,” said Davidson. “School boards can now move forward with the timely implementation of the agreement and focus on a successful conclusion to the 2024-25 school year.”

School divisions will be working quickly to implement the provisions of the new agreement in their local contexts and understand the implications for their budgets. The province has committed to fully fund the agreement, but determinations of division-specific funding allocations have been awaiting the final agreement language.

“We know there is work ahead for boards related to this agreement,” said Davidson. “We are committed to this work and focussing our collective efforts towards every student having the resources they need to thrive.”

REGINA – The 2025-26 provincial budget announcement reflects recognition by government of some pressures identified by school boards, according to the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA).

“This is a step in the right direction and should allow for boards to continue programming at current levels,” said Dr. Shawn Davidson, president of the SSBA, which represents the province’s 27 school boards. “However, we will work with government on greater investment to address the needs of all students.”

While some details are still to be determined, Davidson at this point expects boards won’t be facing cuts due to increased funding that recognizes enrolment growth, inflation, and collectively bargained agreements. Allocations in the budget don’t fully address the funding gap in education that boards have identified, but shouldn’t result in them falling farther behind, Davidson continued.

The capital announcements in the budget will help address infrastructure shortfalls, Davidson said.

“There’s always more fence than paint, but there are significant investments here,” he stated. “There are major capital projects, particularly in Saskatoon, where growth is substantial.”

In terms of the Preventative Maintenance and Renewal (PMR) portion of the budget, Davidson noted the increase is welcome.

“It’s not at our target of one per cent, but we are moving toward it,” Davidson said, noting the new funding level will equate to about half of one per cent of school value allocated annually.

Priorities of the Provincial Education Plan (PEP) are reflected in the budget, particularly in regard to early years literacy and mental health, Davidson said.

The SSBA will be working with school boards over the coming months to unpack the particular implications of the budget in their local contexts, he added.