Teachers' Federation upset with latest job cuts

The Prince Edward Island Teachers' Federation says it's been handling lots of calls over the last couple of days from teachers and principals concerned about the latest cuts.

Federation president, Gilles Arsenault, said schools have now been notified how many teachers they will have in the fall, and he said it's "not a pretty picture."

Arsenault is also upset because the education minister said in the legislature that the Teachers Federation negotiated the cuts.

Arsenault said the federation didn't want any cuts, and negotiated a cap of no more than 32 positions for the coming school year. He said he was hoping government would opt for fewer than the cap, rather than the full number, and that proper supports would be in place.

"Like now we're seeing how it all plays out in the system and this would definitely have an impact on our students and actually on the parents as well as less programming will be able to be offered," said Arsenault.

Arsenault believes the cuts will have a huge impact on Island schools. 

"And they are trying to portray the fact that you know we'll be able to do many different things with the new strategies to meet the needs of our students, which we know teachers are spread very thin now," said Arsenault. "And if the parents want to have a good education system, you need to have human resources in place to address those needs." 

The federation president said crucial programs such as reading recovery will be lost in some schools and there will be more split grades.

The federation plans to voice its concerns to government.