Jennex says teacher cuts are system rebalancing
Posted May 10, 2012 02:48:58 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Nova Scotia education minister says our local school board’s decision to eliminate more than 150 teaching positions is a result of the system rebalancing itself.
Ramona Jennex said the job cuts are a recognition that the ratio of teachers to students was lopsided.
Jennex says HRM schools have had a 4.2 per cent decline in enrolment over the last three years, and says all the cuts announced by HRSB are being done through attrition.
She says she believes school boards have done a good job of ensuring that cuts are not affecting the quality of classroom instruction.
“I have to trust that the Board has done a good job of looking at where they’re going to be putting their resources,” said Jennex. “Because I do know that their mandate is to provide a quality education for every student, and I know that that is going to take place.”
But Liberal Leader Stephen McNeil disagrees, saying the school board has said that only 25 of the eliminated positions were as a result of declining enrolment for the upcoming school year.
Jennex says enrolment has been declining for more than just the year in question.
“That’s based on the declining enrolment in this year,” said Jennex. “I’m talking over a three-year average. Their declining enrolment was 4.2.”
The Board’s provincial funding dropped by 0.9 per cent.
