TRURO, NS - The president of CUPE Nova Scotia says the 4,500 school board workers his union represents are very concerned about budget cuts announced by Education Minister Ramona Jennex today
Danny Cavanagh says, “While 1.3 per cent doesn’t sound like a lot to most people, the boards have also been told they have to absorb inflation and any wage increases for employees. So we are talking about considerably more than 1.3 per cent.”
Says Cavanagh, “Last year, school boards were told to cut 1.65 per cent from their budgets and to put that in perspective, it resulted in 45 positions being eliminated just at the Cape Breton-Victoria Board. The bulk of those cuts were teaching assistants who work with children with special needs.”
Nova Scotia Council of School Board Unions Chair Wilfridine Crowdis, meanwhile, says, “We find it very disappointing that the provincial government is cutting in the P-12 system for a second year in a row. Parents need to understand that this will have an effect on classrooms and students, despite what the minister may be suggesting.
“Governments everywhere like to use the word ‘restructuring’ when they really mean cuts. We urge parents to call their provincial MLA’s – or call the minister directly – and tell her that cutting our school system is not the way to go,” says Crowdis.
For more information, please contact:
Danny Cavanagh
President, CUPE NS
902-957-0822 (cell)
Wilfridine Crowdis
Chair, NSSBCU
902-258-7208 (cell)
John McCracken
CUPE Communications
902-455-4180