SASKATOON: Prairie Spirit School Division’s proposed cuts to frontline staff will hurt students, says CUPE Saskatchewan.

This week, the division announced it was cutting 14 teaching and 60 educational assistant positions. CUPE is concerned with the impact cuts to the Prairie Spirit School Division will have on students’ educational experiences – especially vulnerable students with enhanced needs.

“Educational workers’ current workloads are beyond capacity. We are asked to do more every day, including more medical procedures that we do not have training for such as catheterization and tube feeding,” said Grace Wudrick, president of CUPE Local 4254. “Further cuts will place quality of education and safety of both children and workers at enormous risk.” 

“There are more and more students in our schools that have unique needs, whether those needs are medical, behavioral, or if they just need extra help,” added Wudrick. “Vulnerable students need an increased number of dedicated educational assistants to successfully integrate into the school system, not less.”

“Saskatchewan needs a quality educational system to compete in the global economy and grow our population,” said Tom Graham, president of CUPE Saskatchewan. “The Sask Party’s inability to save in the boom for our current economic situation has failed our children and undercut and destabilized the future of this province.”

CUPE represents educational assistants and support staff in the Prairie Spirit School Division.