Province to cover rising teacher costs

Education Minister Donna Harpauer guaranteed Wednesday the province will pony up $1 million out of the $1.9-million shortfall in government funding reported by the Saskatoon public school board a day earlier.

The $1 million is needed to cover increases to the Local Implementation and Negotiations Committee (LINC) agreements that the board negotiates with its teachers.

Speaking to reporters after the NDP raised Saskatoon Public Schools’ funding issues in question period, Harpauer said she told chair Ray Morrison prior to Monday’s board meeting that she would take the LINC funding issue for consideration to Treasury Board, the cabinet committee in charge of budgets.

But noting it was a promise of the previous education minister, Ken Krawetz, that the LINC costs would be covered by the government, she told reporters the money will definitely come to the school board, likely before the end of the year.

"I am again reconfirming that promise," she said.

That still leaves a $900,000-shortfall in relation to the Saskatoon school division’s increased enrolment, with student numbers increasing by 189 from last year as of Sept. 30.

Harpauer said the process for dealing with enrolment shifts hasn’t changed at all, with the additional funding for increased student numbers coming in the next provincial budget.

She said she was sure the situation could be resolved but noted other school divisions were satisfied with funding that had increased by 13 per cent in the three years since the Saskatchewan Party took office.

"We’re saying that we’ve increased their budget and . . . they’re still running their schools, they still have the programs, they haven’t had to cut anything. So we’re asking them to stay within the funding that other school divisions are able to deliver all of their programs within," said Harpauer.

Board chair Morrison said he was relieved to hear Harpauer’s guarantee of the $1 million.

Knowing the money is coming means the board can dip into its reserves in the meantime and ensure that services don’t suffer, he said.

He did note last year also saw a LINC increase for the division, but by the end of June it had been built into the provincial grant.

There is still the issue of funding related to increased enrolment, however.

While funding should eventually be allocated by the province to match the current numbers, Morrison said, there is now no financial "cushion" to deal with the reality of more students in the system right now.

"We can tap into reserves once or twice but you never catch up," he said.

Last year saw the public school division saw its largest enrolment jump in eight years, 545 students, or two per cent. The board had to dip into its reserves at the time to the tune of $1.5 million to deal with the issue.

Morrison noted the board is still waiting for a new education funding formula promised by the Sask. Party as it moves on property tax reform.

Harpauer said the new formula will be unveiled in next spring’s provincial budget.

NDP Leader Dwain Lingenfelter said it is high time for the government to fix the education funding formula to deal with enrolment issues. The current funding shortfall in Saskatoon amounts to the government pushing its own deficit onto school divisions, he said.