Wednesday, January 30, 2019
Serving the Hub of the North since 1960
Volume 59 • Issue 5
Teachers’ society reps drop by Thompson schools to celebrate 100 years BY KYLE DARBYSON
KYLE@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
NCN PERSONAL CARE HOME WORKERS SUPPORT STRIKE NEWS PAGE 3
HOUSE CONCERTS RETURN TO THOMPSON ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PAGE 7
MORE STORES OFFERING LEGAL WEED? NEWSS PAGE 9
In honour of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society’s (MTS) now century-long presence in the province, vice-president James Bedford and Council of School Leaders chair Myles Blahut are attempting to visit 100 different schools by June. After a full day of touring Thompson institutions Jan. 22, the two MTS members dropped by the Lutheran-United Church of Thompson to mingle with teachers and commemorate this impressive milestone. During this gathering, Bedford reflected on the organization’s accomplishments over the past 100 years and talked about why its foundational goals from 1919 are still relevant to public school teachers today. “It was about protecting their jobs, protecting their employment interests, but it was also about advancing public education,” he said. “Because our work in the teachers’ society is not just about creating better working conditions for teachers and principals. It’s also about protecting and supporting public education, because the working conditions of teachers and principals are the learning
conditions for students.” However, Bedford said MTS has been constantly adjusting its objectives over the last 100 years to keep pace with social chance. According to the vice-president, one of their biggest achievements in this area is redefining the role of female teachers, since women, at one time, had to give up their role in the classroom once they got married. “There were long, hardfought battles to ensure that that didn’t have to happen, that a woman didn’t have to resign,” he said. “I think we’ve been tremendously successful over the years, since probably almost 75 per cent of public school teachers in the province are now female.” Recently retired Thompson educator Pat Pegus, who spent 45 years teaching in Northern Manitoba, said MTS’s advocacy also extends to things like maternity leave, which has gotten a lot more generous since she gave birth to her first child over three decades ago. “I only got 16 weeks off … and now the teachers get a year off,” she said. “They’re lucky now, and they get the full pay pretty much. I just got unemploy-
Thompson Citizen photo by Kyle Darbyson MTS vice-president James Bedford (left), Thompson Teachers’ Association president Cathy Pellizzaro (centre) and Council of School Leaders chair Myles Blahut (right) cut the cake at Lutheran-United Church of Thompson Jan. 22 to celebrate MTS’s 100th birthday. ment insurance.” Despite the organization’s success over the past century, Blahut admitted that MTS is always grappling with new priorities when it comes to accommodating teachers’ needs. “I think the other piece that’s come to the forefront over the last few years … is mental health issues and self-wellness,” he said. “It’s now becoming more and more of an issue with teachers having to worry
about those needs of their students in classrooms and even some on the teaching side as well.” In terms obstacles on the horizon, Bedford said they’ll both be watching the province’s upcoming review of the Manitoba educational system, since it could jeopardize teachers’ collective bargaining ability if they decide to consolidate the different school boards. “It’s the first [review] done in several decades
and I think that has the potential to do really great things for public education, but I think it also has the potential to do not-sogreat things,” said Bedford. “We’re preparing for it and we’re interested to see the legislation.” Following their trip to Thompson, Bedford and Blahut have now visited 38 Manitoba schools since the start of their 100-year anniversary tour back in October.
Provincial school funding up 0.5 per cent for second straight year Mystery Lake one of 16 school divisions that will see more funding than last year BY IAN GRAHAM
EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
The Manitoba government increased its funding for elementary and secondary education by $6.6 million this year – the second straight year that funding has gone up just 0.5 per cent – but the School District of Mystery Lake (SDML) is one of 16 school divisions across the province that will see its funding increase. The overall budget went up from $1.323 billion to $1.329 billion. SDML funding increased 2.6 per cent from last year’s level to $32.2 million as a result of an increase in equalization support counterbalanced by a 1.8 per cent drop in enrolment and the phaseout of Tax Incentive Grants, which were designed to help school districts hold the line
on taxes. The 2.6 per cent increase is the third-highest of any school district in the province, behind only Division scolaire franco-manitobaine, which saw an increase of 4.8 per cent, and the Western School Division, which got 4.4 per cent more than last year. The Flin Flon School Division saw its provincial funding rise 1.6 per cent from last year to a total of $9.4 million while the Frontier School Division’s provincial funding went up one per cent to $41.6 million. “This is the highest level of funding in Manitoba history that shows our commitment to Manitoba students despite our current economic realities,” said Education and Training Minister Kelvin Goertzen. “Since 2016, our government has increased funding to school
Thompson Citizen files The School District of Mystery Lake is one of 16 school divisions out of 37 in the province that will see its provincial funding increase this year. The 2.6 per cent rise from last year’s level is the third-highest of any division. divisions by more than $26 million.” Twenty-one of the province’s school districts saw their funding go down from last year, though all received at least 98 per cent of the previous year’s total. The
province has directed school divisions not to increase local education property taxes more than two per cent and is asking them to further reduce administrative costs. “We appreciate school divisions’ efforts to help
control costs and create efficiency in the public education system,” said Goertzen. “As divisions create their budgets for the year ahead, we hope they make decisions that consider both students’ needs and the impact on taxpayers.” The minister also said that the Public Services Sustainability Act (Bill 28), which has yet to be proclaimed, would help reduce financial pressure on school divisions, since about 80 per cent of their budgets go to salaries. The bill creates a four-year period during which public sector employees’ salaries may not go up more than the percentages it specifies – zero per cent in the first two years, 0.75 per cent in the third year and one per cent in the fourth year. Manitoba NDP leader
Wab Kinew said provincial school funding isn’t keeping pace with enrolment and the rate of economic growth. “Manitoba has returned to the ‘90s,” said a statement from Kinew. “Last year school funding was the lowest it’s been in 20 years. This year [Premier Brian] Pallister is cutting funds for over half of Manitoba’s school divisions. He’s enlisting the help of Filmon’s education minister to lay the groundwork for cuts to teacher and bigger class sizes. This will have serious impacts on students. The Pallister government must fund education properly – by keeping pace with enrolment and the rate of economic growth. Class sizes are getting bigger and that means Pallister’s plan gets a failing grade.”