Over 200 education supporters congregated outside Finance Minister Donna Harpauer’s constituency office in Humboldt on Saturday to rally for improved funding and resources for the province's schools. Teachers, parents, students and community members chanted, cheered and called on the government for greater attention to a school system they say has been neglected for over a decade.
The Humboldt mini-rally is one of four taking place in key locations. The Moose Jaw mini-rally on October 14 was held outside the law office of Tim McLeod, MLA for Moose Jaw North and Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. A mini rally is slated for Saskatoon on October 28 at the office of Cabinet Minister Paul Merriman. A final event will take place in North Battleford on November 4 outside the office of Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill. The four mini-rallies follow up the “Make Noise for Education” rally, in which thousands of people gathered on the steps of the Legislature to voice their concerns on April 29.
Representatives from the local and provincial levels of the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation spoke and ignited crowd responses throughout the one-hour event. On hand was President of the Horizon Teachers’ Association, Verna Lynn Gorrill from Bulyea. Gorrill was straightforward and upfront about the intention of the event.
“We want to make sure the government realizes that they’re not funding education where they should be. We have many students in our classrooms going without supports, and we need those supports.”
Several parents with students who require those supports spoke about their experiences. Tawnie Johnson of Humboldt was among them.
“As a parent of a child who needs special services, I feel in a unique position. I recognize that students like my son have three to four year waits for specialized services like speech language pathologists and psychologists is heartbreaking, and seeing classrooms jam-packed with kids struggling is heartbreaking.”
Lyndsay Gabriel of Muenster talked about her family’s experience with wheelchair accessibility following a meeting with the school division a year prior to her daughter’s commencement in Kindergarten.
“When she started school the following September, only one bathroom was accessible, and only one exit and entrance into the building was accessible. Today, four years later, only 2 of five doors are wheelchair accessible, and she still can’t access the stage for Christmas concerts and other events.”
With the lack of funding for infrastructure upgrades, Gabriel shared her concerns about her daughter’s welfare in case of a fire or other emergency. The occupational therapist who provides support for classroom adaptations and day to day mobility management is available only a couple times a year for a period of around ten minutes.
More parents, teachers and Federation representatives spoke on the swelling needs in the schools, overcrowded classrooms, the break point in multi-graded and multi-curriculum classrooms, deteriorating physical conditions in some schools, and a host of other concerns.
“Education is struggling – we are nearing a crisis,” said STF President Samantha Becotte in an interview at the mini-rally. “We have too few supports for our students, growing class sizes, fewer teachers, and the government is simply not doing anything about it. In a lot of their conversation, they talk about large urban centres experiencing challenges because of growing enrollment, but we know those challenges are experienced across our province, and it’s about time they start to listen.”
Becotte highlighted that children’s mental health is at stake given the growing number of students, the declining number of teachers, along with the fact that there are two fewer psychologists in provincial school systems this year. She also invited supporters to attend the mini-rallies in Saskatoon and North Battleford.
Throughout the event, motorists honked their horns and waved their support travelling down 9th Street or 7th Avenue where rally participants lined up outside Minister Harpauer’s office. No representatives of the government were on hand.