Leaked memo warns of serious school issues due to cuts

School principals and vice-principals say cuts to Newfoundland and Labrador's education system will compromise school safety and healthy living, and reduce gym, music and arts program.

The warning comes in a leaked letter from school administrators to their union, the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association.

The principals and vice-principals have learned their teacher allocations for the 2013-2014 school year, and they said the numbers won't allow them to provide the same programs they're offering now. 

In their letter, they said that in junior high, the cuts will mean fewer specialty teachers for subjects such as gym, music and art. 

Losing learning resource teachers, they continued, will also mean the loss of library and computer support.

They said healthy living programs, which have been heavily promoted by government, will be hit because staff will not have enough time to run them.

They also said they will not have enough resources to deal with student conflicts, fights, and anti-bullying programs. 

They've also warned about school security, writing that they will not have enough staff to secure a school, which will mean "children may be under threat."

'Fewer staff, fewer services'

"The services to the students of Newfoundland and Labrador will be significantly different in September than it is right now," said NLTA president Lily Cole.

"Because we're 160 teachers less in the system, and we just cannot provide the same level of service that we have been in the past."

In the letter, the administrators have asked the NLTA to lobby government to reverse the cuts and restore school staffing levels to that of the 2012-2013 school year.

They wrote that they have complained about the cuts through their union because, "under a threat of insubordination and reprisal, we are expected to meet required compliance standards and act without question or debate."