The faculty association at Saskatchewan Polytechnic wants the board of directors to investigate how the school handled the dismantling of its athletic program and the layoffs that went with it, according to a letter sent to the board of directors.
“Information available to the faculty association suggests these layoffs were driven by a vindictive spirit and executed in a manner that was unnecessary, insensitive and militaristic,” Warren White, the president of Sask. Polytechnic faculty association, wrote to the board in a letter obtained by CTV News.
Seven staff members were laid off following the move to shut down sports teams and fitness centres at most of the school’s campuses.
“The harsh truth is, they were called to a meeting in human resources and by the time they got back to their offices, their offices were locked. They were not able to continue any further communication with folks in the community,” White said in the letter.
The athletics program cuts come as the school moves towards what officials describe as a “Wellness Strategy.”
White said the laid off staff could have filled positions in the school’s new wellness model.
“It’s highly probably that these qualified and skilled people would have been eligible for continued employment,” he wrote.
Students call for transparency
Sask. Polytechnic students tell CTV News they’re concerned about the cuts.
“I don’t think that the people who made this decision really understand how many people it’s truly affecting,” Jessica Morrow, a nursing student who played on the school’s basketball team, said.
Morrow was set to graduate next April, but decided to graduate later so she could play on the basketball team for her last year.
“Basketball would’ve started in January, so I just thought I’d extend it out, be with my friends, my support systems and have some fun for my final year,” Morrow said.
“For me, (Sask. Polytechnic) isn’t going to be somewhere that I’m excited to come back to in the fall.”
Morrow said she and other students plan to start a petition in hopes of reversing the school’s decision to cut its athletic programs.
