Education was the subject on Trent Wotherspoon's agenda Feb. 24 in North Battleford.
Wotherspoon, the New Democrat MLA for Regina Rosemont and the party's education and finance critic in the legislature, met with school boards and gathered information on education issues during his visit to the Battlefords.
It is part of his opposition fact-finding and consultation tour on education in advance of the resumption of the legislative session March 5.
"The meetings in North Battleford today were part of provincial-wide outreach that we're undertaking right now as a caucus and as education critic," said Wotherspoon, who stopped by the offices of the Regional Optimist following his meetings.
"I've been meeting with school boards and educational stakeholders in all parts of the province."
He was in Prince Albert and La Ronge in the days before coming to the Battlefords, and was to continue his tour this week.
Wotherspoon said it was important as an official opposition, and for himself as education critic, to understand the implications of the funding formula for the school divisions in the respective regions, and also to "understand the challenges and opportunities that exist and some of the successes that are occurring."
He met with both Living Sky and Light of Christ school divisions, he said, as well as with community health partners and community leaders. Wotherspoon noted there was a good attendance of the directors and senior administration at those meetings with the boards.
"The boards here in the Battlefords are very proud of the work in each of their respective school divisions," Wotherspoon said, saying it was great to hear some of their success stories.
In talking to the Regional Optimist, Wotherspoon raised concerns about funding to the school divisions by the province.
He noted decisions on funding are "just being determined, sort of, as we speak" and worried there "are going to be some fairly significant and harsh consequences for some school boards across this province, and certainly that could occur here in the Battlefords as well."
"Some school divisions are going to potentially take a significant hit out of their budget," said Wotherspoon. Those dollars, he said, could come right of services to students and directly out of providing a quality education.
Wotherspoon voiced concern about what budget cuts could mean to programs in the schools designed to produce strong outcomes in academics - mathematics and literacy, for example - as well as the area of community-focused education.
He is concerned about what budget cuts would mean for programs "that we know are in the best interest of the province from an economic and social perspective."
Wotherspoon pledged to watch closely as the budget comes down in the next few weeks. If cuts to education are occurring, the party plans to be strong advocates for programs in the Battlefords and around the province, he said.
Wotherspoon also acts as finance critic for the NDP caucus and plans to watch closely all aspects of the budget Sask. Party government finance minister Ken Krawetz plans to bring down March 21
He called it "disheartening" that in a time when the province is supposed to be the government has "struggled to balance its books," pointing to the "draining" of both the rainy day fund and Crown corporations to balance the budgets.
"It's not only the poor financial record of this government that we are concerned with and raised questions with, it's also their reporting," said Wotherspoon, who was calling on the government to get in line with the other provinces in the way their account for their finances.
