MLA Francis said it's important for the public to have all the information

By Joan Janzen

This week, Ken Francis, MLA for Kindersley, felt it was important for the public to have all the information so they can make their own decisions regarding the negotiations with the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF).

"There were six items brought to the bargaining table, where the government has shown flexibility," Francis stated. "Unfortunately, those weren't allowed to be presented because the STF wants complexity and size of the classroom written within their contract, so talk stalled after 30 minutes."

Francis has observed that the size and complexity of classrooms are different in every school and each of the province's twenty-seven school divisions. "As a government, we feel those decisions are best made at the school division level and not by one union," he advised. "The power that the union wants within their contract would take away power from the local school division. As a government, we are not prepared to take the power away from the local school divisions."

Ken Francis, MLA for Kindersley, wants the public to have all the information regarding negotiations with the STF, so individuals can make their own decisions. Photo by Joan Janzen

He continued to explain that although the government is committed to investing more funding into sizing down classrooms and helping with complexity, it is not prepared to give control of the money to the STF. "We feel that the money would be best allocated by the elected school division," he said.

He said the government is addressing complexity issues by implementing eight pilot projects, which were applied to each school and division. If those projects prove to be successful, the government would expand those across the province on a case-by-case basis.

"We're committed to projects that actually help. And if those work like we hope they're going to work, we will broaden those across the province. But the locally elected school divisions need to be involved," he explained.

According to Francis, the government is willing to look at more investment in the upcoming budget. "We put an additional $53 million last year, and we're looking at annualizing additional funds directed to classroom size and complexity," he said. "For the STF to say the government doesn't care about kids, teachers or education, in general, is very unfair. Education is a non-partisan issue."

He continued to address a statistic the STF talks about, which states Saskatchewan has the third lowest student funding in the country. However, Francis noted they neglect to mention that - "per capita, we pay the most. The government's desire is to strike a balance between taxpayers, the school division and teachers."

The Minister of Education met with 22 of the 27 school divisions in the past three months to clarify what the government's position and bargaining. "The government bargaining committee is always willing to talk and is always ready to be at the table. But we don't support the STF's power going beyond what we think is a fair level. Let's hope we can get back to the bargaining table and have a meaningful discussion," Francis said.

"I'm willing to sit down and talk with anyone in the local education system. If they want to have a discussion about it, they can phone the office," he concluded. He can be reached at 306-463-4446.