Sask. provides $51M in funding to school divisions for COVID expenses

The Government of Saskatchewan is providing more than $50 million in funding to school divisions for one-time expenses tied to a return to school during COVID-19.

On Tuesday, the government announced it had approved $41 million in funding, with a further $10 million to come from the savings accumulated by school divisions after schools were closed in March.

The province has more than $150 million available, including $75 million from the federal government and $40 million from the provincial government’s $200-million contingency fund.

The Saskatchewan government said 46 applications for funding were received from school divisions, independent schools and historical high schools.

The funding approved Tuesday comprises: $19.1 million for sanitization, including the hiring of 191 staff; $13.2 million for supports for immunocompromised students, including the addition of 150 teachers and staff; $9.5 million for additional distance learning capacity, with the hiring of 102 teachers and staff; $6.0 million for equipment and furniture; and, $4.0 million for technology upgrades.

Education Minister Gord Wyant said it will be up to school divisions for when the 443 additional teachers and staff will be hired and in the buildings. But he expected that the hiring process would begin immediately.

When asked if school divisions could have benefited from these workers being in place for the first day of class, Wyant billed the funding announcement as support for the work school officials have already been doing.

“A lot of school divisions have already been taking those steps. This additional funding will be able to provide the additional security that school divisions need from those perspectives,” Wyant said.

The Ministry of Education has put aside $10 million for personal protective equipment expenses, with $2.3 million of that spent to date to purchase six million masks for school divisions.

Wyant said a majority of the masks have been received and distributed.

“If there’s additional resources, additional masks and shields, that need to be ordered, they will be ordered immediately,” he said.

The government said it has $64 million left in its COVID contingency fund for education. The next intake for school division funding applications is set for Dec. 1.

The province also announced it will not consider redistributing operating money for education until student enrolment is known in January.

Typically, funding is confirmed after numbers are submitted on Sept. 30 but Wyant said the delay is “in recognition of the exceptional circumstances this year.”

Some parents might homeschool their kids to start the year but send them back later on.

“Our plan and our desire as the Ministry of Education in this government is to have as minimal an impact on school division funding as possible,” he said.

“We’ll be working quite closely with school divisions to make sure that they’re not adversely affected.”