SWIFT CURRENT: Chinook School Division is laying off at least nine staff due to a 7.3 percent, or $6 million dollar, reduction in funding from the provincial government. CUPE is concerned about the impact the cuts will have on students in the Chinook School Division.

“Layoffs will have an impact on the support available for all students and will specifically affect those students who need extra help to succeed,” said Omar Murray, president of CUPE Local 4754, which represents support workers in the Chinook School Division. “The provincial government’s decision to cut funding from education while lowering the corporate tax rate puts their own big contributors ahead of our children.”

Workers are being laid off in the areas of speech language pathology, occupational therapy, counselling, and educational psychology.

Even though no CUPE members are currently impacted, these changes will still have an enormous impact on students.

“Budget cuts have real consequences for children. Our K-12 education system has already faced years of inadequate funding from the provincial government. Instead of properly investing in our children and their education, the provincial government has made the choice to cut their funding,” said Murray. “Chinook School Division has been put in a difficult position, and the blame should fall directly on the provincial government.”

CUPE will continue to advocate for proper funding for Saskatchewan’s K-12 education so that every student has access to the supports they need to thrive,” Murray added.

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