A local union is calling for increased funding and supports in schools following a shocking attack on a girl at Saskatoon’s Evan Hardy Collegiate earlier in September.
Members of CUPE 8443, some of which are employed at Evan Hardy, say additional funds are needed to put into place measures to stem increasing levels of violence in schools.
This follows an attack in which a 15-year-old female student was lit on fire and a teacher was injured in an effort to extinguish the flames. The victim remains in an Edmonton Hospital Burn Unit following the attack. Meanwhile, here 14-year-old female assailant faces charges.
“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 as reported by CTV news.
Nicholson stated that workers, which include educational assistants, library technicians, knowledge keepers and others, have been kicked and bit on a regular basis.
The union claims that underfunding, which it says amounts to cuts, has seen counselling and in-class supports cut over a period of years. It’s a symptom of a widespread issue, says STF President Samantha Becotte.
Becotte maintains it’s all part of increasing class size and complexity issues that have teachers and support staff straining to maintain order in the face of being forced to do more with less.