NDP recommends more testing, lower class sizes when reopening schools

The provincial opposition party is laying out a seven-point plan on how it believes the government should bring schools back in the fall.

The NDP recommendations include increasing testing and contact tracing, lowering class sizes, ramping up funding for COVID-19 prevention in schools, developing a plan for localized outbreaks and keeping distance learning as an option for immunocompromised students.

Leader Ryan Meili expressed frustration with how the province has dealt with informing the public on its plan.

“We’ve been waiting to see a plan from the province. They introduced a plan in the spring that was completely inadequate … We need to have a government that is going to show leadership and take the right steps,” he said.

He broke down his party’s reasoning on the various steps it is recommending.

Some tie in with issues the NDP has historically campaigned for, even before the pandemic.

“We need to lower class sizes. Our classrooms were already overcrowded before this started. We can not safely send kids back into the same level of overcrowded classrooms … This is going to require resources. That means dedicated dollars … We need to know exactly what dollars, and that those are going to be adequate to properly resource a good, safe plan,” he said.

He did not reveal a specific dollar amount as to how much funding he believes should be put in place.

Additionally, Meili called for the province to put out specific thresholds of case numbers on whether or not to shut schools back down or take similar steps.

“In other places around the country, they’re saying ‘Here’s what it looks like if there are low case numbers, intermediate case numbers with blended learning, or high case numbers where we need to have distance learning.’ Those thresholds and phases need to be laid out clearly so people have a sense of what to watch for and what they can count on,” he said.

However, he stopped short at providing any specifics on what he’d like to see for case thresholds.

“I’m starting to get a bit tired of doing Scott Moe’s job for him. I want to see the minister of health and the premier actually set out some thresholds and make it clear that those are required … He has the public health people working with him (and) he’s refusing to do this. We need to see some clear guidance from the folks who actually have that information,” he said.

The provincial government released guidelines on schools on June 18, and suggested more detail would be coming next week. Most divisions are set to begin classes on Sept. 1.