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The provincial budget is showing the southeast that there will be some new spending coming to the area, even if specifics aren't quite clear yet.
For the upcoming fiscal year, the Ministry of Education will receive $3.5 billion, an increase of $183 million, or 5.5 per cent, over the previous year. However the funding itself still needs to go through the collective bargaining agreement between the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation and the province to see exactly where that goes.
One of the key focuses for the province in the budget is improving Kindergarten to Grade 3 literacy, which Southeast Cornerstone Public School Division Director of Education Keith Keating can get behind.
"That's a great focus, something we've been focused on for a very long time in the Southeast is our K-3 literacy results and something you would have seen back in previous education plans as well. So continued focus on that as a great thing to see."
The province has also set aside money for 50 specialized support classrooms across the province, with Keating confirming one of those will be in the southeast. The actual implications and results from a classroom like that aren't fully clear and Keating hopes to hear more on the province's plans.
Other areas in the budget include preventative maintenance, which will see a slight increase which Keating approves of.
Keating says he's excited to head into the new school year with some expanded funding, though the full outlook of the year may come later after more is known.
"While we're really excited to head to the 2025-26 school year on the implications of the budget, I guess we'll see those after that collective bargaining agreement is reached between the STF and government trustee bargaining committee and that will really dictate what kind of resources are available throughout the southeast for students and teachers."
Keating says the two sides have until May 2nd to come to an agreement, and he hopes to see that be finalized before the summer.