Good Spirit and Christ the Teacher school divisions have received $114,706 and $28,265 respectively to spend on learning supports.
The money is part of a $3.5 million reallocation announced Friday by the Province. An additional $1.1 million will be divided up amongst school divisions when enrolment numbers are finalized.
"Student enrolment in Saskatchewan continues to grow and we know that means diversity in the classroom is also growing," Education Minister Don Morgan said. "Based on feedback from the sector, we are reallocating $4.6 million to provide additional front-line supports where it's needed most-in the classroom."
For Good Spirit, it was a bit of a windfall.
"It's dollars we didn't think we were going to get, so it's very helpful," said Dwayne Reeve, GSSD director of education.
He said the executive will meet this week to start the process of identifying where the money can best be spent so the school board can start planning at its November 27 meeting.
Reeve suspects initiatives such as enhancing the division's staff in the area of behavioural expertise and support for English as an Additional Language, which were cut last year after the division received an "efficiency adjustment," will once again quickly rise to the top of the priority list.
Darrell Zaba, Christ the Teacher's director of education, was not quite as excited noting $28,000 is a drop in the bucket compared to the $2 million already allocated to the division for learning supports.
"It's not a large sum of money, but any extra money is always valued," he said.
The funding comes with a proviso for school divisions to consult with teachers and report back to the ministry with how they used the cash to enhance learning.
"Teachers are really in the best position to identify where this funding could have the most impact on students, we're asking divisions to gather their input to determine how this money should be allocated," Morgan said.
The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) warmly welcomed the announcement.
"We commend the government's action to support student learning and address enrolment growth in our province," said Randy Cline, STF vice-president.
"We appreciate Minister Morgan's acknowledgement that teachers know best the supports that are needed in the classroom and that they should be involved in decision-making. Teachers look forward to working directly with school divisions to determine where the funding will best support students."
Preliminary statistics as of September 30 indicate provincial enrolment K-12 is up this year over last by almost a full percentage point from 170,582 to 173,548.
The $4.6 million was originally allocated for capital assets related to standardized student assessments, which was cancelled when the school divisions approved and the government accepted the Education Strategic Plan in April.
