Education Cuts will Hurt Rural Schools

May 08, 2019

At the April meeting of the Limestone District School Board, it was announced that if the Conservative’s education cuts go through, the Board will have at least 77 fewer Secondary Teachers by three years from now. If these cuts are allowed to stand, they will devastate rural schools like Granite Ridge Education Center (GREC) in Sharbot Lake and Sydenham High School (SHS).

The cut means that GREC will potentially lose 4 teachers, while SHS would lose 8 teachers. You may not feel strongly that the resulting larger class sizes will impede learning, but think about the other effects. Fewer teachers means 24 fewer course options at GREC and 48 fewer at SHS. This will mean less choice for students and the loss of many electives. It will also result in less help for students in crisis and fewer teachers to run extracurricular sports and clubs. For the local economies, it means the loss of 12 full time, well paid jobs and the families that go with them.

As a parent of a daughter who is entering Grade 9 next year, I want these cuts stopped. I want my daughter to have the same choices that I had to take electives like Tech, Foods, Drama, and Music. These cuts cannot stand.