Education Delivery in Saskatchewan in Crisis Due to Ineffective Funding Models
Today, education leaders from early childhood and primary to post-secondary joined together to voice their shared concerns about the ineffective funding models in the Saskatchewan education system. Though K-12 funding is separate from post-secondary, all levels of education have had to contend with ineffective and unpredictable funding from the provincial government.
University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association Chairperson Geraldine Balzer, University of Regina Faculty Association President Britt Hall, Saskatchewan Polytechnic Faculty Association President Bill Grosskleg and Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation President Samantha Becotte are calling for a more predictable and sustainable approach to funding, stating, “our education systems cannot rely on cyclical and unpredictable funding. This is detrimental to students’ individual success and the future of our province.”
Beyond empowering individuals, education provides them with marketable skills that serve them socially and economically. What leaders are seeing in the current landscape, from the early years up to undergraduate, is a trend of cyclical funding led by political promises and boom-and-bust budgets. This unpredictability does not allow for meaningful, long-term planning with respect to both education delivery and talent retention.
“USFA fully supports the STF in their job action. Their students are, and will be, our students,” says University of Saskatchewan Faculty Association Chairperson Geraldine Balzer. “We all thrive only with stable and adequate public funding. The chronic lack of priority for education puts Saskatchewan kids at a disadvantage, from elementary school to post-secondary institutions, and to the workforce both in this province and on the world stage.”
“URFA is standing in solidarity with the STF today as an allied organization that deeply cares about the quality of public education and supporting students in our province,” says President of the University of Regina Faculty Association Britt Hall. “We’re seeing a vast failure of imagination from this government – Saskatchewan could have the world’s best public education system, with meaningful investments at every level, that not only support the students we have but also attract learners from across the world to study, research and contribute here.”
“The SPFA stands shoulder to shoulder in support of the job action of the STF. It is with the minds, bodies and spirits of teachers that today’s generation of elementary and secondary students are being crafted into tomorrow’s post-secondary students,” says President of the Saskatchewan Polytechnic Faculty Association Bill Grosskleg. “In order for today’s students to succeed, they need the proper supports in place, which include adequate funding and resources. Education needs to be prioritized at every level in Saskatchewan in order to have a workforce that is prepared for our ever-changing world. As a province, we should be working together in this endeavor.”
“It’s hard to comprehend why a government wouldn’t want to invest in its people. After all, they provide the best return on investment possible,” says Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation President Samantha Becotte. “Any government keen on building an educated workforce owes it to the people they serve to ensure predictable education funding.”
Providing adequate, predictable and sustainable funding to Saskatchewan’s education sectors will set up the province for future prosperity and economic success by ensuring Saskatchewan is competitive.