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The provincial budget delivered Wednesday contained $3.5 billion for education, an increase of 5.5 per cent from the 2024-25 budget. This included $2.4 billion for school operating funding and $191.3 million for school capital projects.
Part of the operating funding will be going towards the creation of 50 specialized classrooms, explained Everett Hindley, the Minister of Education.
“Each of these looks a little bit different from the initial eight pilots that we have and are working well,” Hindley said. “We’ll start with the first 50 in this budget year. I’m looking forward to expanding it as much as we can in the years to come.”
There were no details announced at the time of the budget speech where those 50 specialized support classrooms will be located, or if any of the classrooms will be implemented in the southeast.
There were two capital projects highlighted for southeast Saskatchewan during the budget. The first is the ongoing construction of a new K-12 school in Carlyle. The other is a roof upgrade at St. Olivier School in Radville. There was an increase for the preventative maintenance and renewal fund as well, with a $15 million top-up.
“Just based on what we’re trying to do, both from an operation standpoint, but also from a capital standpoint as well, we’re making some significant investments,” Hindley added. “That being said, we know that the list is long and I think as the Saskatchewan School Boards Association has said, there’s always more fence than paint.”
The Education budget also included $130 million for the new teacher collective agreement and $2 million for K-3 literacy.