Support staff at Saskatoon public schools call for more safety supports after teen set on fire

Support staff at Saskatoon Public Schools are calling for urgent action and more funding to keep members safe in the wake of a brutal attack at Evan Hardy Collegiate earlier this month.

A 14-year-old girl is facing criminal charges after a Sept. 5 attack where she lit another girl, 15, on fire at a Saskatoon high school. The victim is recovering from serious injuries in an Edmonton hospital.

The shocking attack has prompted the union representing support workers at Saskatoon’s public schools to speak out.

CUPE 8443, which represents the support staff, is calling for additional funding for supports to mitigate the increasing threat of violence in high schools.

“If there were supports in place beforehand, before it got to this place, we might not have seen such a horrific incident, and a family and staff and students that were all involved,” said Dene Nicholson, CUPE 8443 president.

CUPE 8443 represents public school workers including educational assistants, library technicians, knowledge keepers, custodians and cafeteria workers.

“Our members are going to work, and they are being kicked and bit and punched on a regular basis,” she said.

Now is not the time for the province to cut funding because it is often being done at the expense of safety, according to Nicholson, and doesn’t meet the gaps created by inflation and increased enrollment. More supports are needed now, she says.

“Additional supports, counselling supports, all these things that have been cut from our budgets, because of the lack of funding from the provincial government.”

The Evan Hardy attack is an extreme example of growing issues in schools, according to Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) president Samantha Becotte — forcing schools to do more with less.

“It comes down to cutting different programs, cutting supports for students. So we can put in policy that this is what we want to see, but we need real action to start addressing these very significant concerns of growing violence, and increasing classroom complexity in our schools,” Becotte told CTV News.

The head of the STF has spoken with counsellors around the province who tell her some have up to 200 cases to respond to.

“So, to try and even meet those students on a regular basis, is nearly impossible. They're really only jumping from crisis to crisis,” she said.

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said it will continue working with school divisions to ensure policies and supports are in place to keep everyone safe at school.

“All students and staff should be safe at school. that is why workplaces in Saskatchewan are required to develop a violence prevention plan to eliminate workplace violence,” the statement said.

Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools also weighed in.

“All employees should be able to feel safe at work. We respect the rights of CUPE, and other collective bargaining units, to express their views and support their members,” said Derrick Kunz, Saskatoon Catholic schools spokesperson.

Nicholson, meanwhile, maintains that more staff is needed on a day-to-day basis to help students deal with issues long before they escalate.