Saskatoon high school students stage protest as STF sanctions continue

Around 50 high school students gathered outside of Saskatoon Southeast MLA Don Morgan’s office Tuesday to call for more funding to address class size and complexity for students and teachers in the province.

The protest followed in the footsteps of others staged over the past few months by the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, which has levied sanctions against the government during their ongoing labour dispute.

Those sanctions have included rotating strikes, withholding lunch-hour supervision and the withdrawal of extracurricular support, which has continued this week.

Kunj Patel, a Grade 12 student at Marion M. Graham Collegiate in Saskatoon, was one of the protest organizers. He said he brought together students to show support for teachers and their struggles with these issues.

“Teachers can’t teach us properly because of the class sizes. They can’t focus on students and that impacts the future of Saskatoon,” he said.

Ella Heinrichs, a Grade 11 student at Evan Hardy Collegiate, echoed that statement, noting most of her classes have up to 40 kids and not enough room.

“In my English class, I have to sit on a couch to do my English projects, (and) it’s really hard to write on my lap,” she said.

She joined the protest to not only support other students but also in support and motivate her mom, who is a teacher.

Elizabeth Leuschen, a Grade 12 student at St. Joseph High School, said she wants to see guaranteed funding for schools, and hopes teachers can have a voice when it comes to class size and complexity.

High school students are outside of MLA Don Morgan’s office this afternoon with signs up calling for a deal to be made with the teachers union and province @CKOMNews pic.twitter.com/IMb6CY5GOc

— Mia Holowaychuk (@miaholoway) March 26, 2024

Sanctions have resulted in the cancellation of events like Hoopla, where the provincial high school basketball championships were condensed to one day in Moose Jaw instead of three.

Leuschen said as a student, it can be frustrating, especially with uncertainty surrounding an approaching graduation season.

“At this point, it’s gotten out of hand and it’s not just affecting the teachers, it’s affecting the students,” she said, adding she’s in full support of the teachers’ federation and hopes an agreement can be made soon.

Education Minister Jeremy Cockrill said the province is preparing an accountability framework that’s connected to the current funding agreement between the province and Saskatchewan School Boards Association.

The agreement guarantees a base amount of $356.6 million for classroom supports over the next four years for class size and classroom complexity.

On Monday, Cockrill didn’t provide any details on what the framework would include, but he noted the offer was being worked on internally by the Ministry of Education.

On Tuesday, STF president Samantha Becotte said the teachers’ federation has received the outline from the ministry. She noted the STF will be working with the minister and the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee on a possible path forward to the bargaining table.

Becotte said she is “extremely disappointed” that the bargaining process has taken this long, but is hopeful that the union and province can get closer to an agreement.