Saskatchewan’s education minister said there is no government plan to cut the number of educational assistants in schools by 75 percent.Ken Krawetz recently sent letters to school divisions with that message.”There is no policy. There is no directive,” he said in an interview.Since last fall, the opposition and unions have complained that is the case. They say the job losses will hurt students who relied on the assistants for help.But Krawetz said school divisions cutting those jobs are doing so under a policy that was implemented by the previous government to change the way student needs are assessed.Under this method, more students will get the help they need, he said.”We’re not dealing with the medical model anymore,” he explained. “We’re now looking at providing supports to students on a needs-based assessment.”Earlier this month, the Prairie Spirit School Division cut 41 educational assistant jobs from its 44 schools during its budget process. The division had 340 EAs.”While due in part to the division’s restricted budget, this decision is also aligned with the division’s move to a new student learning model,” said a news release after the June 7 board meeting.”With this approach, all students receive instruction in the classroom from a multi-disciplinary team of professionals, including speech language pathologists, educational psychologists, counsellors, occupational therapists, special education teachers, EAs and others.”Krawetz said that is what divisions are working toward.Previously, children fell through the cracks because their needs were not medical.”It really didn’t identify the child who might have a bit of a speech impediment, something that required some intensive support maybe for a couple hours a day, an hour a day,” he said.Divisions shared services such as speech pathology but that meant students didn’t see professionals often enough.There are thousands of students needing these kinds of services, he added, and it will take time for school divisions to adjust to the new model.Grace Wudrick, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees local that represents education workers in Prairie Spirit, said the divisions should do what’s best for the children.She blamed both the government and the division for the cuts.”I think the government initiated the plan and the school division is embracing it,” she said.Wudrick doesn’t believe the new model will work because it won’t help the children who struggle in school and she expects more opposition as parents become informed.
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