The Swan Valley School Division (SVSD) has lost $2.2 million in federal funding to support First Nations children. This because of the sweeping changes to Jordan's Principle.
As a result, the school division is cutting 40 educational assistants. 18 of the 40 were permanent educational assistants. The remaining 22 were term hires. The layoffs take effect at the end of June.
Rob Tomlinson is the superintendent at the Swan Valley School Division, and he says the layoffs are detrimental.
"That's a lot of programming support. We gave the affected staff ample notice, we talked to the permanent and term EAs last Friday," said Tomlinson. "They said it best: this will impact our student programming."
Earlier this year, the Hanover School Division laid off 93 educational assistants in connection with an unexpected drop in federal support. As one of the largest employers in the region, SVSD includes eight schools. Benito School, Bowsman School, École Swan River South School, Heyes School, Minitonas School, Northern Lights Institute of Trades and Technology, Swan Valley Regional Secondary School, and Taylor Elementary School.
When speaking with the educational assistants, Rob stressed the great work they have done and are doing.
"I don't think we can say that enough. This has nothing to do with the performance of our educational assistants and the great work they're doing day in and day out with our students," said Tomlinson. "Some of our students that need the most care and attention. We're going to have to make some changes to our programming because we won't have those great people in our building supporting students."
Tracy Schmidt, the province's education minister, is working closely with Swan Valley and other divisions to make sure students have access to the services they need.
While Tomlinson is disappointed about the current situation, he knows SVSD will remain strong and adapt to the changes.
"We're very proud of our division. We have great programming from kindergarten to grade 12," ended Tomlinson. "While this is a challenge, our staff is creative and innovative. We're already doing problem solving when it comes to what the programming will look like next year. We have great people, they're problem solvers. We're going to get through this."
