“Public education in this province stands at a crossroads. Anyone who is interested in the future of our children, economic prosperity, healthcare, agriculture, mining or information technology in Saskatchewan knows that the future lies with our children,” stated Samantha Becotte the president of the STF during a zoom meeting held on Feb. 26.
Delivering the new generation of lively, engaged, and enlightened citizens requires a high-quality, publicly funded education system. A sustainable system that can cope with record-high increases in enrollment that meet the needs of children from all over the world.
An education system that can provide the support required for children with differing intellectual and social capacities and provides all children, regardless of where they live, with the support they require to achieve success in the classroom.
Two specific items have been asked by the STF to be added to the collective agreement. First, is funding for classroom complexity, and second is teacher compensation. Other Canadian jurisdictions are taking these issues seriously because they believe students should be a priority. For the last decade, the Saskatchewan government has been ignoring these issues facing students and teachers within the classrooms across the province.
And while the current minister of education now acknowledges the issues, his actions show the lengths the government will go to avoid making children and public education their priority.
Funding to school divisions is entirely from a provincial level. School boards used to have the ability to levy local taxes which was changed by the government through legislation. Now all educational funding comes from the provincial government with capital funding used for building or repairing schools.
What the STF is asking to be included in the collective agreement over the next three years is operational restricted funding, which is funds specifically allocated directly to teachers classrooms to support the needs of their students.
“Even if you have written one email, please write some more, call them, make an appointment to go and visit them. They just have to know that you care about how education is funded in our province and what is actually being done,” said STF Executive Director Bobby Taillefer.
By using phone and email campaigns, sanctions on duty with no noon-hour supervision, and no extra-curricular activities with more sanctions being added, the STF is giving the government time to react and resolve the two main issues. Parents and guardians are asked to voice their concerns with local school boards, the provincial government, the Minister of Education, and Premier Scott Moe.
“Those things have far-reaching impacts on students and on teachers and on families, so we're trying to balance our actions. We're trying to give the government and the school board association an opportunity to react to this before we get to those continuous sanctions. That of course has impacts on everybody,” added Associate Executive Director, Angela Banda.
Nicole Berg and her daughter have independently started a campaign to help teachers and the STF during province-side strike days with Families with STF. Saskatchewan residents are invited to sign up for a 15-minute time slot at https://familieswithstf.com/ and to place calls to Premier Scott Moe and Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill. Check the website for more details.
The STF is asking for your support for the provincial educating team by phone, email, or just a warm cookie to a teacher on the picket line. Show the government, parents and guardians of Saskatchewan’s future, your support to raise the educational bar to new heights.
