The Government of Saskatchewan is providing an additional $40 million to Saskatchewan’s school divisions to support enrolment growth and the complexity of today’s classrooms. This funding is being provided to school divisions to respond to the needs of a growing and diverse province.
Funding of $20 million will be provided to school divisions to address school enrolment growth beyond what was projected by school divisions. The province has and will continue to fund enrolment increases. This funding will be available for the 2023-24 school year to address the continued growth of the province.
An additional $20 million will be available for school divisions to hire classroom and other support staff to respond to the challenges of classroom complexity. This funding will be provided to school divisions to hire resources such as teachers, educational assistants, speech language pathologists, counsellors, educational psychologists or other supports as required. This funding is based on the work of the Class Size and Composition Committee.
“This additional $40 million in funding will help address a rapidly growing student population as well as ensuring that our teachers have the supports they need to support an increasingly complex classroom,” Education Minister Dustin Duncan said. “This 4.5 per cent increase in school operating when compared to last year is part of the government’s commitment to ensuring students all across the province have access to high quality education.”
“We are grateful for the additional funds,” Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools Board Chair Diane Boyko said. “Today’s announcement is a good first step in the right direction to give school divisions adequate, sustainable and predictable funding so we can best serve students and families.”
This brings the operating budget for Saskatchewan’s 27 school divisions to a record investment of $2.08 billion for the 2023-24 school year.