School boards association believes class complexity should be 'dealt with' locally

The president of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association believes classroom complexity is a local issue and shouldn't be negotiated in a collective bargaining agreement.

President Jamie Smith-Windsor weighed in on the CBA impasse between the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation and the province Friday afternoon with a bullet-point news release stating how school boards believe in local decision making because communities are very diverse.

"We have urban, rural, and northern divisions all with unique characteristics and needs," Smith-Windsor said. "Boards believe class complexity should be dealt with at a local level and not in a provincial CBA."

Smith-Windsor said a dedicated fund for local boards will be established to address classroom complexity using the province's recent funding announcement of $53.1 million per year for that purpose.

Other local committees will also be set up to identify and address other priorities.

"A framework for reporting will be developed by the Boards of Education, the Ministry of Education, and the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, with a mandate to report at the local level and to aggregate at the provincial level as part of the Provincial Education Plan," Smith-Windsor said in the news release.

"We believe this meets the needs of students and addresses the concerns of teachers."

The news release said 80 per cent of grants to school boards are allocated to staff salaries and benefits. Smith-Windsor believes establishing local committees and this new framework for reporting allows for both sides to return to the table, outside of bargaining.

"We look forward to continued collaboration with our partners, and further, to returning to the bargaining table to reach a fair and reasonable agreement," Smith-Windsor said.

Saskatchewan teachers have been without a contract since Aug. 31, 2023.