Proposed administrative changes to Manitoba's K-12 system leave uncertainty about job cuts

Uncertainty looms around the jobs of school administrators, after the Manitoba government announced its plan to dissolve its 37 English school boards into one central body.

Following a comprehensive review of the kindergarten to Grade 12 school system, Education Minister Cliff Cullen announced Monday that the province plans to get rid of local school boards and form a provincial educational authority. The Francophone School Division is excluded from the change.

The proposed Bill 64, the Education Modernization Act, is currently in its second reading in the legislature. If approved, the government says it will allow up to $40 million in savings from administrative costs to go to classroom costs — but Cullen would not give specifics on how it will impact jobs.

"It's pretty early to say exactly what that looks like," he said during a news conference Monday.

Some administrators will be appointed to the provincial education authority in order to establish its structure. Once that's done, "we'll have a better idea in terms of the implication to jobs," he said.

"Clearly, we are still going to need individuals to manage education. Whether it be the financial side of it, whether it be the transportation side — those individuals will still be required."

The Manitoba Teachers' Society (MTS), which represents over 16,000 public school teachers, will discuss potential job losses with the province, vice-president Nathan Martindale said.

Job cuts will hinge on the decisions made by the provincial government during the upcoming transition, said Jamie Dumont, Ward 1 trustee for the Winnipeg School Division.

"I can't read that far into the future, but if some of these programs don't continue, I think that there will be an impact on what the division and what schools are offering the families," said Dumont, citing school programming such as nutrition, mental health support and alternative education settings.

The Manitoba School Boards Association, a voluntary organization that represents public school boards, will disband if the proposed legislation is approved, said president Alan Campbell. But even then, he said there have to be discussions, because it has a labour-relations role.

Bill 64 would also put the Manitoba Teachers' Society in charge of collective bargaining for teachers, while excluding principals and vice-principals from the teachers' union altogether.

The latter is the union's biggest concern, said Martindale, as it could create an adversarial relationship between teachers and administrators that could lead to tenser learning environments for students and impact relationships with parents.

"This does nothing to the best interest of students and we are going to fight back on this one quite loudly and strongly," he said, adding that the proposal was a disappointing surprise.

Cutting school boards

Manitoba has the most school divisions per capita in the country, according to the provincial government.

If Bill 64 is approved, the Manitoba government will eliminate school divisions, instead forming 15 regional councils to represent schools in specific geographic boundaries, and various councils will allow for parental representation.

None will have the same legislative or taxation pull of school divisions, and school trustee elections will be a thing of the past.

Dumont said the whole point of elected trustees is to be available to the community so the public can have a direct say in local public education. 

"It's disappointing that the government, through this process, does not recognize and appreciate the importance of that local voice and local representation," she said.

Jennifer Chen, Ward 6 trustee for the Winnipeg School Division, is the only immigrant and minority trustee for that school division.

The ward she represents includes low-income, diverse inner-city Winnipeg neighbourhoods such as Dufferin and part of Point Douglas. She is concerned that eliminating people like her from the decision-making table will lead to less consideration for the needs of racialized and impoverished students.

"School trustees engage our school community, engage our staff and engage our children and parents and guardians. We talk to them on a daily basis, and we understand the community that we represent," Chen said.

"I deeply care about it, but I don't see our provincial government cares. I don't see they care about our vulnerable populations' voices."

Opposition NDP Leader Wab Kinew expects the proposed legislation to cause a "massive shift" that could lead to cuts for various communities.

"It's a recipe to take decision-making further and further away from the classroom and put it in the premier's office," he said.

Child poverty

Ultimately, the administrative changes will have little effect on the outcomes in the classroom, said Brian O'Leary, superintendent of the Seven Oaks School Division in Winnipeg.

A greater impact will be made by paying attention to what's happening in the classroom, particularly the achievement gaps for Indigenous students affected by poverty and children in care, he said.

The main reason for the kindergarten to Grade 12 review and the proposed changes to the schooling system is to improve outcomes for students, Cullen said, including addressing how poverty affects a student's education.

"The government has telegraphed … that they're going to be very heavy on the outcomes, achievements, assessments and test scores," said Martindale of the teachers' society.

"What I don't see a lot of is how they're going to address child poverty, which is a real issue in all parts of the province, an issue that needs to be addressed first before talking about achievements and test scores.

Campbell, of the Manitoba School Boards Association, also said Cullen did not reference any plan to address educating students in poverty or care Monday.

"Those are really tough conversations that local school boards have been having for decades with their fellow community partners, when it comes to the provision of some of the social programming that exists in public schools," he said.