Erika Ritchie, Saskatchewan NDP Candidate for Saskatoon Nutana, om Kroczynski, Battlefords NDP candidate and Brandie Carignan speak about education. (Julia Lovett-Squires/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Julia Lovett-Squires

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Oct 15, 2024 | 6:41 PM

Local educational assistant Brandie Carignan said if there was ever to be a health emergency, students in Battlefords schools are in danger.

Standing on a hillside across North Battleford Comprehensive High School and North West College, the EA poke to issues that she and colleagues see on a daily basis in education.

“Staff are responsible for far more children than they can safely manage,” she said.

“The issues that these kids are facing are far beyond academic,” Carignan added, referring to the uptick in use of lunch programs and experiencing mental health issues.

Carignan joined Tom Kroczynski, Battlefords NDP candidate and Erika Ritchie, Saskatchewan NDP candidate for Saskatoon – Nutana for a Tues., Oct. 15 announcement that the NDP would make a generational investment of $2 billion over their first four years if they are elected government.

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“We’re here today to sound the alarm on Scott Moe’s and the SaskParty’s plan to cut funding for education even more than they already have,” said Kroczynski.

He explained the other reason the NDP held their news conference locally was because of Battlefords SaskParty candidate Jeremy Cockrill, who has served as education minister.

“This guy fought with teachers, defend the cuts to education and even called the cops on teachers and community members who were only asking for just a little more help.”

According to the SaskParty’s platform, which was released over the weekend, their plan will include a $2.2 billion operating funding increase for school divisions. That includes $356 million in supports like funding for classroom size and complexity and $30 million to fund salaries for non-teaching staff, bus drivers and educational assistants.

Under Carla Beck, the NDP plan to hire more teachers, reduce class sizes, and support students with a school nutrition program.

“We will increase funding to support students with learning disabilities so every kid can have a chance to thrive,” said Ritchie.

“Local communities matter and a Saskatchewan NDP government will work collaboratively with local schoolboards, teachers and other education partners to ensure our investment in education is making a difference.”

Speaking to local media, Carignan, who works mainly at a high school and has called the Battlefords home her entire life, the issue that bothers her most is that there aren’t enough EAs to cover all the students.

“If you have one EA they’re doing the job of like three, four, five different people,’ she said, noting that works out to nearly all the students.

“If I’m in student services, I’m expected almost everywhere where there would be the need.”

According to Kroczynski, every day is a struggle and parents are in need of extra help for their children.

“It’s costing them money, it’s costing them, so the school system is letting them down” he said.

“Not the teachers, not the school that I’m working at, not the other educational people working in the schools, but the way the whole system is working right now, it’s letting our families down, it’s letting our kids down.”

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

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