Latest news with #FrancophoneSouth
CBC
22-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Education minister says she may back off district budget squeeze
Claire Johnson says additional money, talks with education councils could reverse some controversial job cuts New Brunswick's education minister is signalling that the Liberal government is backing away from a controversial approach to district education council budgets that has led to the elimination of dozens of support positions. Claire Johnson says this could include additional funding, or moving money around so they can reverse some of those cuts. "We're looking at, yes, potentially redirecting some funds from elsewhere, maybe setting out our targets on the longer term instead of short term," she told CBC News in an interview. "It's all on the table, and we're in discussions right now. We're working with the districts." She said any additional funding won't reach the level the districts asked for. The Holt Liberals' first budget boosted education spending by $200 million for 2025-26, but directives on how to spend large chunks of the money left the districts with less than they said they needed. Anglophone West eliminated more than 30 school library positions among a total of 69 jobs, while Francophone South said last week it would cut 25 support positions for students with behavioural problems. The government said it wanted more resources directed to classroom teaching to improve literacy and numeracy scores. But the district cuts put the Liberals on the defensive, facing accusations that classroom teachers would find themselves spread ever thinner, trying to pick up the slack. "A teachers' time needs to be respected," New Brunswick Teachers' Association Peter Legacy told Information Morning Fredericton on Thursday. "Their plates are full right now, and adding anything else to that plate is simply unacceptable. "We certainly can't be looking to download more work onto the classroom teacher." Johnson said the government was "sort of surprised" at some of the cuts because the districts were expected to make up the reduced funding from administrative positions "and that there'd be zero impact on the schools, zero impact on the classrooms." She said it was a good exercise for the Liberals to push the districts to rethink how they do things, but "the part that was probably a little bit too fast or too far is that it was done very quickly, without necessarily having specific activities in mind." Asked who had moved too quickly, Johnson responded: "Everybody. The government. We did. We pushed. We're impatient. … We all have a sense of urgency where we want to see change right away." Department decision led to district cuts Besides the library positions, Anglophone West is also cutting 36 district leads — staff who offer support in areas such as curriculum — and 15 people who work with child and youth teams. Some of the laid-off employees are able to apply for classroom teaching positions, but Legacy argued Thursday that it wasn't clear how that would work and who would fill the gap left behind. "The leads certainly do important work in our districts, and I think how that support is going to roll out in the fall is yet to be determined, is yet to be seen," he said. "Moving people into classrooms without measuring unintended consequences can cause some concern. Change that's not measured can create a little bit of confusion out there." But he said he had confidence that Johnson has "boots on the ground" and wants to know what is happening in classrooms. Johnson blamed the budget squeeze on an unexpected slowing of revenue growth that has left the Holt Liberals having less money to maintain levels of spending established by the previous Progressive Conservative government. "We — as a government now, as candidates, people who ran in an election — had a different idea of what the economic situation was going to look like when we made our election promises," she said. But that is flatly contradicted by warnings from PC candidates during last fall's campaign that the province's population-growth-fuelled revenue windfall was levelling off to the point that Liberal commitments were unaffordable. Johnson said she's hopeful that her department's discussions with districts can identify administrative savings that won't affect classrooms, including reduced spending on travel to teacher conferences. "Where's the sweet spot, where someone can still be blossoming as a professional but not costing too much to the system?" she said.
CBC
16-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
N.B. education minister avoids questions as more cuts are revealed
Social Sharing The Holt Liberal government adjourned the New Brunswick Legislature on Friday, still trying to avoid acknowledging that its budget decisions are leading to job cuts by district education councils. Education Minister Claire Johnson avoided responding to questions from the opposition and from reporters after the Francophone South DEC — which includes schools in her Moncton riding — confirmed details of its cuts. The district said it will eliminate 25 support positions for students with behavioural issues, shifting those teachers into classrooms to comply with a government directive. "That support we give directly to students and to our staff is needed," superintendent Monique Boudreau told Radio-Canada. "That's where we'll see an impact. … We have staff who work very hard, and we're asking them to do even more with less." Johnson tried to avoid using the word "cuts" during the two weeks the opposition spent criticizing her for putting districts in difficult positions. The government is spending more overall in education this year, but it's requiring districts to spend a larger chunk of the money in classrooms, leaving them, in some cases, with less to spend elsewhere. WATCH | 'Please defend these cuts': minister challenged on district's plans More education cuts announced as politicians spar over wording 1 hour ago Duration 1:55 The government and opposition have spent two weeks debating whether cuts are happening. One district has laid out its plan. On May 9, Johnson visibly caught herself in a scrum from reporters before uttering the word. "We've invested more this year. That's why we call it an investment. … We can't respond to all the needs, which is why they perceive it as a – " she said before a long pause. "As insufficient funding," she finally added. The minister argues that shifting more resources to the classroom will help students achieve better results — though the government is also lowering assessment targets to make them easier to hit. That added more fuel to opposition criticism, particularly linked to the Anglophone West district's decision to cut librarian positions. "The closure of school libraries because of government budget cuts is devastating for all the dedicated library workers and for the students they help," PC education critic Ian Lee said this week. Green MLA Megan Mitton said Francophone South, a fast-growing, minority-language district with a large number of recent immigrants who need additional support, has an especially acute need for support workers. "It's clear that there are cuts, and it doesn't make sense that the government keeps denying that," she said. On Thursday, the Canadian Union of Public Employees local 2745 — which represents librarians among more than 4,000 educational staff province-wide — postponed a scheduled ratification vote on a new four-year collective agreement because of the cuts. The union said it needs clarifications on the status of some of its members whose jobs are being eliminated or redefined before it approves the new contract. Spokesperson Simon Ouellette said Johnson needs to spend more time talking to employees affected by the government's budget decisions so she can understand what's happening. "I'm sure she's capable of learning, like our youth does when they have access to libraries," he said. Opposition leader says districts forced to make cuts On Friday, PC Leader Glen Savoie said it's more clear than ever that it's accurate to say the government is forcing districts to make cuts. "They are going to get rid of people," he said in his final question of question period before the legislature adjourned for a one-week break. "This is going to impact the classroom. So I'm going to ask the minister of education to get up again and please defend these cuts to the classroom." Instead, Public Safety Minister Robert Gauvin stood up and delivered a loud and partisan attack on the opposition, waving his arms while avoiding the point of the issue. "This is what we get? Some sort of theatre out of the government?" Savoie told reporters afterward. "The government just continues to try to use jargon, honeyed words, and they're not making any sort of headway. People understand the reality of what these cuts are doing."
CBC
02-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Province defends education funding decisions, unaware of library worker cuts
The province is standing by its decision to ask all seven school districts to reallocate $43 million within their budgets — a move that resulted in layoffs earlier this week. Premier Susan Holt said the Department of Education's goal is to add teachers to classrooms to improve literacy and numeracy scores. "We want the money to move from offices to classrooms, to teachers and to students, and we've asked the districts to partner with us in doing that," said Holt. She said the province has too many classrooms without teachers or classrooms without teachers trained in education. Anglophone West was asked to come up with $9.3 million in their budget to contribute to the new directive. As a result, they handed out layoff notices on Monday, including the elimination of staff that work in 62 libraries across the district's 70 schools. Minister of Education Claire Johnson said, "We know that this is tough and we know that these decisions are not easy and we're sad too about the library workers, but we really, we need to be doing this at this time." She said her department would be working "in partnership" with the districts to help them "make these cuts" to find the money. "We knew that we had to make some tough choices with this budget and this was part of it. And knowing that resources and stabilization was needed at the classroom level, it made sense to redirect the resources from the district back into the classrooms and back into the schools," said Johnson. The idea to "redirect resources" came from door knocking during the party's election campaign and what they've heard from teachers. Johnson and Holt both said the province has actually added $200 million in funding compared to last year, but the department actually needs $250 million. Holt said districts asked for "a certain amount of money," but the province wasn't able to give it to them. She said that makes this change "feel like a cut." "There's a $50-million gap," said Johnson. "So what we've done is, at the district level, we've taken, we've redirected $7 million. So that means there's $43 million that needs to be redirected or spent differently at the district level." She said the decision is also part of being fiscally responsible. "This is part of what being a fiscally responsible government looks like. It means that sometimes we have to make tough decisions and sometimes we have to be more efficient," Johnson said. She said she found out about Anglophone West's cuts on Monday, the same day the layoff notices were handed out, and that her department didn't work with the district to make the decision. "We're going to hold them accountable," Johnson said. "We're going to ask them questions as to why they decided this." Holt also said she is "talking to the district" about the decision. Sending teachers back to the classroom Part of the province's plan is to send 150 qualified teachers working outside of the classroom back into the classroom. A plan that Michel Côté, the Francophone South District Education Council chair, says doesn't represent the reality of his district and won't work. Côté said most of his teachers are already in the classroom and there are few in the district office. WATCH | 'We don't really have any fat to cut' 'The future will tell': Education chair skeptical about funding decisions 10 minutes ago Duration 2:25 The province is asking school districts to find $43 million in their budgets with the aim to put 150 more teachers in classrooms. But at what cost? "We don't have those teachers or we can't send them in the classroom. They're already in the classroom. Most of our funding that we get goes into the classroom, goes into the schools," he said. Francophone South sent six teachers from the district level back into the classroom last year. Only two of them are still there. Johnson said she thinks teachers reassigned to the classroom will stay and her department will have conversations with them "to find out what it is that they need to be happy in their job." No 'fat to cut' Côté said his district, which covers Moncton, Fredericton and Saint John, is growing by hundreds of students every year and has schools over capacity. His district is responsible for finding $7.1 million in their budget. Côté said Francophone South is already running a deficit of more than $2 million this year in order to add resources such as educational assistants. "We don't really have any fat to cut," he said. Côté said the changes will affect students and "the quality of education." This news also concerns Lynda Homer, the executive director of the Literacy Coalition of New Brunswick, especially the loss of school library workers. "Making books accessible for young people and for all of us is really important and promoting the reading of books is more important today than ever." She believes libraries and literacy outcomes are a top priority. Homer agrees adding teachers is important but wishes there was another way. "I think that not everything is about money, but money does equal resources, both human and physical resources. So I really hesitate to think that cuts to education right now would be wise." Côté said that "most likely" his district will have to cut positions. As for the remaining five anglophone and francophone districts in the province, none of them have made staffing decisions except for Francophone Northwest.
