Rural school board latest to cut educational assistants funded by Jordan's Principle
A Manitoba school division in which four in 10 students self-identify as Indigenous is cutting 40 educational assistants in response to sweeping changes to Jordan's Principle.
'We wouldn't have had those positions in place had we not needed them,' said Gary Wowchuk, chairman of the board of trustees in the Swan Valley School Division.
'The impact is going to be felt by students that need those extra resources and by the staff who have to pick up some of the slack there.'
The Swan River-based board recently learned $2.2 million in federal funding to support First Nations children during the current academic year wouldn't be renewed for 2025-26.
Superintendent Rob Tomlinson told the Free Press the administration hand-delivered letters to the affected employees — 18 permanent educational assistants and 22 term hires — last week.
The layoffs take effect at the end of June.
Senior administration wanted to give support staff as much notice as possible and ensure they understood the changes do not reflect performance, Tomlinson said.
'We're losing some great people. This has been a huge hit,' he said, noting the division is one of the largest employers in the region, located nearly 500 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
The rural board is among those that have been bracing for cuts since the Hanover School Division laid off 93 educational assistants in connection to an unexpected drop in federal support in the fall.
The recent reductions have been raised in the Manitoba legislature on several occasions this week, including Thursday — Spirit Bear Day, which honours the legacy of Jordan River Anderson, a child from Norway House Cree Nation who had complex medical needs.
Jordan died in 2005 in a Winnipeg hospital as the Manitoba and Canadian governments fought over who should pay his home-care bills.
A human rights principle was established in the five-year-old's name to ensure First Nations children are legally entitled to accessing government services without delay.
'In his memory, we urge all governments today to not allow more children to fall through the cracks because of the adults' bickering,' Obby Khan, leader of the Progressive Conservatives, told the house on Thursday.
Khan accused the provincial government of deflecting responsibility.
One day earlier, Education Minister Tracy Schmidt told question period it was unfortunate Ottawa had made significant changes to funding in its Jordan's Principle program.
'Those changes made by the federal government are having impacts here on our education system,' Schmidt said.
The minister said her office is working closely with Swan Valley and other divisions to make sure students have access to the services they need.
Indigenous Services Canada changed eligibility and documentation requirements for grants this year. Officials have cited a surge in Jordan's Principle applications and concerns about its sustainability.
The update includes no longer approving school-related requests if they are not explicitly tied to a child's specific health, social or educational needs.
'In 2025, public schools are providing solutions to a variety of challenges in a way that we have never done before in education, in clinical supports, in intellectual and physical disability supports, in all manner of public health supports,' said Alan Campbell, president of the Manitoba School Boards Association and its federal counterpart.
Campbell said there's widespread confusion about the state of federal funding to support First Nations students. The money had been funnelled to schools through the Manitoba government, he noted.
While saying the funding has provided 'absolutely essential' support to many children, he acknowledged there have been cases in Manitoba and elsewhere where grants were not used as intended in the education realm.
The long-serving trustee in the Interlake is scheduled to meet with federal officials to discuss the matter on behalf of all school boards across the country in early June.
maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca
Maggie MacintoshEducation reporter
Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie.
Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative.
Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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