NB school districts: Administration and teachers face challenges from amalgamation

 

Administration employees and teachers are uncertain about  what will change after  the   amalgamation  of the school  districts in New Brunswick.

The government announced two weeks ago its plans to reduce the administration cost, by cutting the districts to half and laying off employees.  The plan is to save five million dollars every year that will go into classroom learning.

Makedonia Koutsoumpeli  has the first reactions to this ambitious plan.

 

By the end of the school year, schools in New Brunswick will face an operational challenge because the government plans to reduce administration costs.

What the future brings, is larger school districts and up to twenty-five per cent less administration staff.

Up to 100 district employees will lose their jobs. The remaining 300 to 325 employees will have the bulk of work for a larger number of schools in larger areas.

 

“Clearly this has been researched and there has been consultation prior to the changes that are being made, but as with any change  It takes 3-5 years to realise and to evaluate and determine if it was the best decision. At this point we are all going to work together to ensure it was the best decision.” -Dianne Wilkins, District 18 Superintendent 

 

District Education councils have little information on how the new plan will work out :which positions will be cut, which offices will be closed and how seven instead of fourteen districts will cover the needs of more than 320 schools across the province.

For example, the proposed new district for Fredericton will include schools from Oromocto and Woodstock up to Edmundston.

Teachers are also concerned about how their work will be affected.

“There are going to be fewer district offices, where are they going to be situated, how is that going to change my access to the support that I need, in terms of payroll or transportation… , as a principle you are in daily contact with someone at district office. That concern is there and then the concern how it is going to affect schools down the road.” -Heather Smith,  President of New Brunswick Teacher’s Association (NBTA)

The Department of Education said the cuts reflect the fifteen percent decline of the student population in the past ten years.

As operation costs rise every year, New Brunswick can no longer afford to have twice as many school districts as other Atlantic provinces.

Minister of Education Jody Carr said five million dollars will be saved every year , which will be invested in classrooms, instead of administration

“This is not a traditional cost-cutting  exercise but a way that we can reinvent and be creative and do better with the dollars we have.” – Jody Carr, Minister of Education

The Liberals expect to see money put towards education instead of cuts.

“The Alward government had promised more teachers more support stuff and more curriculum support in the classrooms and so far we haven’t seen that.” - Victor Boudreau,  Leader of Official Opposition

Teachers also want to participate in decisions for money spent towards classrooms.

“It is an investment in our future and we need to make sure that the money that is potentially saved by this amalgamations is invested back into schools and classrooms and support for students.”- Heather Smith,  President of New Brunswick Teachers Association (NBTA)

The amalgamation is planned to be completed in the summer. But  it will be just the beginning of further changes that the government plans in areas of school services and school use.

For STU Journalism, I am Makedonia Koutsoumpeli.