Anglophone East School District short $2M for educational assistants
Officials searching for ways to cover 60 EA positions in the fall, says superintendent
The Anglophone East School District says it doesn't have enough money to cover about 60 educational assistant positions in the upcoming school year.
The budget for educational assistants (EAs) for students with special needs at schools in the southeastern part of the province is about $2 million short.
Earlier this week, the district education council decided not to pass the budget "because they can't approve a deficit budget and I can't run a deficit budget," said Gregg Ingersoll, district superintenden
Officials are now scrambling to find the money.
"If no new resources come into the system, then we'll have to take a look at what we're doing and try to, you know, streamline some things we're doing, prioritize."
'Crucial' to inclusive system
Ingersoll said EAs are "crucial" to New Brunswick's inclusive education system, but funding hasn't kept pace with the growing need over the past couple of years.
The district anticipates it will need about 472 EAs in September, he said.
That's up from about 450 this past school year and 437 the previous year.
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development did not respond to a request from CBC News Wednesday for an interview.
In an emailed statement Thursday morning, Minister Dominic Cardy said school districts are provided with a global budget.
"It is up to them to decide how to allocate their funds."
Ingersoll said a greater number of students who require assistance are entering the school system each year than the number leaving.
We feel it's going to be challenging for us to make that up.- Gregg Ingersoll, Anglophone East superintendentThis year, for example, 14 Grade 12 students with EAs are graduating, while 35 children with special needs are starting kindergarten.
"So that's a difference of 21 right there," he said, not including any students entering the system from out of province.
Some classrooms with about 20 students have as many as four educational assistants to ensure the students with special needs get the one-on-one attention they require and that the learning of other students isn't disrupted.
"You have to
have [educational assistants] and they do a wonderful job of supporting
the students and making everything flow," he said. "But as you can see,
the number is growing and growing and growing and as long as you have
the funding, that's one thing, but if you don't have the funding, it's
just challenging to make sure that we make it all work."
Information Morning - Moncton
The Anglophone East School District is short on cash to hire education assistants
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The budget for staff salaries, which is the largest line item, usually provides some flexibility, said Ingersoll.
The district also received some extra funding last September because of increased enrolment.
"So that kind of helped us out last year. And we're anticipating that's probably going to happen again this year because our forecasting for the Atlantic immigration strategy is forecasting a lot of growth for the Moncton area," he said.
This year, the gap is too big, said Ingersoll.
"We feel it's going to be challenging for us to make that up."
With files from Information Morning Moncton
37 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Surprise Surprise Surprise
Matt
Steele
It
sounds like the education system has become a BOTTOMLESS PIT in which
to throw taxpayer cash . The article mentions that some classrooms of 20
students can have up to FOUR EAs , plus they have the teacher . Govt.
should be providing essential services , and not be used as a MAKE WORK
PROJECT . The student population has dropped heavily province wide over
the last 20 years , yet the school system seems to be on a hiring blitz .
Is it any wonder that the prov. debt has doubled to over 14 BILLION
over the last TEN years when this type of wild out of control spending
is going on......something needs to change !
Ronald Parker
Reply to @Matt
Steele: you are forgetting that the raise of special needs students has
risen. Eas are hired to help with those needs.
Reggie Sinclair
Reply to @Matt Steele:
You obviously don’t understand the system, so let me try to explain in
simple terms. You have a train with 2 engines up front, pulling a load
of 100 small cars which is the maximum they were designed for. You add
an extra 20 BIG, HEAVY cars to the line. The 2 engines rev up,
struggle, but are capable of pulling the load with the extra effort.
You add another 20 more cars to the line. These 20 are even BIGGER and
HEAVIER then the last 20! The 2 engines rev up more, and are still able
to pull, but the stress on the motors is obvious and definitely not
sustainable; they were not designed for that kind of load and going to
blow soon. The 2 options are to remove the extra cars (which isn’t
really an option, otherwise the cars don’t go anywhere), or add an extra
engine up front to spread the load. Those EAs are the engines.
Matt
Steele
Reply to @Reggie
Sinclair: ......or maybe the EAs sit at the back of the classroom
looking at , and texting , on their personal phones ; and do next to
NOTHING OTHER THAN TO COLLECT A PAYCHECK . Maybe it is you who does not
understand !
Mathias Madic
Reply to @Matt
Steele: BINGO. Lots of Daycare staff in the school system as EA's that
have minimal training in Mental Disabilities (man made or just
biological) and in some cases none at all.
Al Hubble
Reply to @Matt Steele:
That is the most ignorant and unsubstantiated statement I have seen on
here in some time. Most EAs work very hard at their jobs and are greatly
appreciated by the teachers in the classrooms. If it wasn't for the EAs
a lot of classrooms would be chaos and absolutely no learning would
take place. Have you considered that the problem may be the idea of
"full inclusion". I am sure a different model could be a lot more
effective, both financially and in the terms of every student getting a
proper education. P.S. No, I am not directly involved with the school
system. just an outsider with a bit of common sense, looking in.
Matt
Steele
Reply to @al hubble:
.....If you are not directly involved in the Education system , then it
is doubtful that you have any idea what is going on in the classrooms .
If you were aware of what is going on in the classrooms , then you would
know that it is the teachers who are responsible for classroom
management and teaching ; not EAs . Many classrooms are in chaos
regardless of how many EAs are sitting at the back of the class , and
streaming caused by FI and inclusion is the problem . The teachers are
overwhelmed ; and hiring endless EAs is NOT THE SOLUTION !
Josef Blow
Reply to @Matt
Steele: I think you’d be happy if education were perhaps be abolished
altogether? And what’s up with the “screaming” (caps) in your comments?
Josef Blow
Reply to @Matt
Steele: If your snarky comment is indeed true, it would provide an made
to fit opportunity for you: spend all day SCREAMING at forums such as
this. Go for it.
David Amos
Reply to @Matt Steele: "Maybe it is you who does not understand !"
Oh My My
Oh My My
Ronald
Parker
They
find money to give themselves raises, find money to have lavish
parties, give money to rich companies but cant find money to help our
young or old.
Josef Blow
Reply to @Ronald
Parker: Can you imagine if some Bahamian countries contributed to
Canada’s and New Brunswick’s taxes in order to act “fairly” towards the
jurisdictions in which it conducts business? Perhaps the PA could take
them on?
Josef Blow
Reply to @Josef Blow:
I guess the PAppliance is not in favour of taking the Big Guys on? Why
the negativity, guys? It’s a bigger task than changing a license plate,
but you are a strong force, N’esy pas?
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