By Tyler Marr

School division wary over further cuts, local autonomy

Apr 12, 2017 | 10:00 AM

Prince Albert’s public school board has been asked to tighten its belt even further, as the province has instructed boards to cut wages or benefits by 3.5 per cent.

In a letter sent to Saskatchewan school division board chairs, direction was given to launch into negotiations with local bargaining agents to meet the request.

Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division (SRPSD) board chair Barry Hollick felt these salary negotiations should be worked out at the provincial level because as a board, they do not bargain locally with teaching staff.

“There is a provincial standard for pay and that is where I believe that any cutbacks should be made. If [the minister] is rolling back salaries, he has got to get the agreement from the teachers,” Hollick said.

“Our people have an agreement in place and it is not due for renewal, and they are not interested in opening it.”

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Administrative and trustee salaries, on the other hand, are negotiated at a local level, but Hollick said there were no final decisions made on how this was to be worked out. Board members will be heading to Regina in the coming days to speak to Education Minister Don Morgan and gain clarity on the directive.

With the division’s budget yet to be finalized, Hollick admitted central office staff, alongside administrator and consultant positions, may be eliminated.

“We are trying to keep cuts as far removed from the classroom as we can because we don’t want the students to suffer any negative impacts,” he said.

“But when you are dealing with around $3.5 million dollars less on a $100 million budget, there are going to be some cuts that we are not going to be happy with.”

This announcement came on the heels of amendments to the Education Act introduced last week.

Bill 63 removes the need to pass changes through the legislative process. This bill will also see the minister’s office granted greater oversight on school division financial decisions and student success.

For Hollick, he held concern these new regulations could “limit board autonomy.”

“All I do know is that some of the powers the minister has now given himself with Bill 63, it could – I am not saying it will – but it could limit board autonomy further.”

The other worry Hollick spoke to, was the introduction of the bill in the legislature without deep consultation from the Saskatchewan School Board Association.

“They could have met with our executives or executive director and said these are changes we are considering but none of that was done,” Hollick said. “Now we are going to have to do a real careful study with what is repealed and what is new.”

The amendments came forward in response to findings from an earlier advisory panel on education governance.

In a statement, minister Don Morgan said besides hearing calls to maintain locally elected boards and trustees, the panel also heard “a clear need to ensure school divisions are being as efficient and effective as possible with the resources that are available.”

Changes will attempt to find efficiencies in areas like transportation and bulk purchasing, and plans to adopt a common salary grid for senior administration.

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr