Budget disastrous for Tri-County region, says school board

In a news release issued today, the board said the budget allocation to the tri-county region means a shortfall of $3.3 million. In order to balance the budget, cuts will have to be made to teaching positions and to central office staff positions.

These cuts translate to 24 teaching positions absorbed by the schools, and 18 central office positions, including school support staff such as school psychologists, math and literacy mentors, student services staff, technology consultants, French reading recovery lead teachers, and library services.

“The province of Nova Scotia is not providing enough funding to school boards even to maintain current levels of service,” said board chair Faye Haley. “Making these cuts was extremely difficult, but under the Education Act, the board has to present a balanced budget and this is the ugly reality of that lack of funding by the province.”

Vice-chair Ron Hines said the board felt cuts had to be made at the board office in order to protect the classroom as much as possible, “but make no mistake – this is a disastrous budget.”

In recent years, the school board has frequently met with education department officials to discuss concerns at the impact of the funding formula adopted for school boards following the 2005 Hogg Report.

The board says the budget further exacerbates a situation that sees tri-county schools receiving less than they should.

“The province has failed in its duty to invest in the future by providing sufficient funding for education,” said superintendent Phil Landry in the news release. “The loss of these positions will have a devastating impact on our classrooms.”