Opposition MLAs worry education green paper proposes 'too much, too fast'
Green paper on education proposes major changes to New Brunswick system
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The Progressive Conservative government's green paper on education proposes big ideas and sweeping reforms in its 25 pages, but opposition politicians have raised a similar concern: Is it "too much, too fast?"
"The devil is going to be in the details in how the implementation rolls out," said Liberal education critic Chuck Chiasson. "Will the necessary resources be there?"
The green paper, a collection of ideas and policies for the public and stakeholders to consider, has the ambitious goal of transforming an education system that is — as described by the report's authors — "sliding towards crisis."
Its nearly 30 action items to seek to make classrooms more manageable and safe, to reduce the burden on teachers yet improve training, to raise the level of education and support given to students, and to put the bodies that govern the system under a microscope.
As members of each elected New Brunswick political party convened for the CBC New Brunswick Political Panel, the conversation lingered not so much on the ideas but the feasibility.
"There's interest; there's skepticism in terms of the magnitude of the changes, the speed," said Green Party Leader David Coon, who focused on the document's wish to improve mental health support for students and adults in the school system.
The plan would be to build off the existing integrated service delivery model, a collaboration between four governmental departments, the school districts and the regional health authorities to ensure a variety of services are delivered in schools and communities.
But Coon said the government isn't putting up the funds to support the system as it is.
He said concerns of "too much, too fast" were brought to him by teachers, post-secondary educators and parents.
Chiasson said an intervention worker recently told him they don't have enough time in schools to build trust with students before having to move on. He said there should be workers stationed in every school.
Education Minister Dominic Cardy said the opposition wouldn't criticize the government for acting aggressively on climate change, and the same thinking applies to education.
"That's not a valid reason for not acting. You hear from teachers … that there are real concerns in the classroom," Cardy said. "There are teachers who are bailing out of the system every week right now as the pressures build up."
As for costing, the green paper document did not come with a price tag. Cardy said he looked at the budgeting while drafting the document.
"This is a green paper. We'll get into detailed financials as we get closer to actually implementing the idea, but most of them are not things that are going to cost money."
In terms of mental health support, he said part of the funding will come through reallocation of existing money and resources. Another aspect will come through professional development for teachers.
With fies from CBC New Brunswick Political Panel Podcast