Heavy workload teachers' main concern
Education department cuts could spread teachers 'too thin,' they say
Increasing workload is the number one issue concerning P.E.I. teachers, according to the P.E.I. Teachers Federation.
And that will get worse with 40 fewer teachers in schools across the province, anticipates federation president Gilles Arsenault.
Fewer teachers are being hired because of declining enrolment, said the Department of Education.
The impact is being felt in classrooms, said Arsenault.
"Teachers are concerned that they're going to be spread too thin to be able to do all the work that needs to be done," said Arsenault.
"There's a lot of students out there and there's a lot of different needs. And to be able to meet those needs you need to have the human resources in place to be able to help every Island child succeed in the school system."
Arsenault said 90 per cent of P.E.I.'s classrooms are above the acceptable student-teacher ratio of one to 15 or 16.
He said he would like that ratio come down.