Sask. schools want more funding for students needing ‘intensive supports’

Schools in the province are seeing the number of students who need “intensive supports” rising, but the amount of funding earmarked to help those students isn’t keeping pace.

The special education department of Saskatoon Public Schools brought the issue forward to its board of education. Shane Skjerven, the division’s director of education, said it’s a concerning issue.

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“We are stretching our dollars thinner and thinner, and it becomes more difficult to operate programs and services in the school division when we don’t have the supports for those students,” he said.

Skjerven said the school board has been advocating for improvements for years. He said the board has two key recommendations for the provincial government: review the provincial funding formula and increase program funding to John Dolan School.

“Every student at John Dolan School has multiple and complex disabilities and needs,” Skjerven explained.

“As a result, we’ve actually asked the provincial government for additional program funding to cover the yearly deficit that we face at John Dolan School, which is about $2.4 million to operate that school. So we’ve made that request.”

Skjerven said the school division wants the government to use a model where funding is based on the individual division’s needs.

“The assumption in the funding formula is that those students are equally distributed throughout every school division in the province,” he said.

He said the board has made requests for the past few years, but so far hasn’t seen any changes.

In a news release, Saskatoon Public Schools said that over the past years, it has seen nearly 800 students “requiring intensitve supports” in its K-12 classrooms.

Many of the students meet criteria in more than one category, with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual development disorder representing the most rapidly increasing areas.

Skjerven said each student requires different kinds of help.

“We’re talking about human beings here,” he said.

According to Skjerven, some students have severe behaviour or emotional outbursts, and need help with personal care, while others may require one-on-one supervision from the time they arrive at school until they leave in the afternoons.

The school division has to move money around in order to fund the intensive support, he added, leaving less for everything else.

“Every single year we allocate approximately $10 million more than we’re funded for in the supports for learning category,” he said.

“So what that means is that $10 million needs to be taken from other aspects of our operations, which means less services and less supports for all students in the school division as a result of us putting additional funding towards students that have intensive needs.”

But while the situation is challenging, Skjerven said he hopes to see change in the future.

“We will continue to do so as best we can with the resources that we have,” he said.

“I think what our board would say is that with additional resources, we would be able to provide better programs and services to all children in Saskatoon, which is ultimately our goal.”

Other divisions struggling with similar issues

Saskatoon Public Schools isn’t the only school division struggling with a lack of funding for students with complex needs.

Both Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools and Regina Public Schools echoed the comments from Saskatoon Public Schools.

“We face similar challenges and are supportive of (Saskatoon Public Schools’) call for adequate, predictable and sustainable funding for the education sector, including funding for students with additional needs,” read a statement from Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools.

“We serve the same community, so we are seeing a comparable increase in the number of students requiring extra supports, but the funding has not kept pace.”

Regina Public Schools also acknowledged the increase of newcomers, many of whom also have complex needs.

“In Regina Public Schools, since 2020, we have seen an increase in enrollment of more than 2,400 students,” the division said in a statement.

“While we are welcoming more students, some of whom have complex needs, the school division has not been able to increase the number staff to meet some of these additional needs the increased enrolment brings with it.”

The Regina division said it would like to see additional off-the-top funding for increased intensive support programs, an increase in funding that reflects increased enrolment, and a need for additional space and inflationary pressures.

Like Skjerven, Regina Public Schools also expressed optimism for the future.

“With the Throne Speech signaling a renewed commitment to education by this government, we are hopeful that the upcoming provincial budget recognizes the increased need in the two cities, so we can continue to provide and enhance the support that all our students need,” the statement read.

The division said it also seeing early success with the ministry-funded Specialized Support Classroom pilot launched last year.

Government weighs in

In a statement, the Ministry of Education said through the Throne Speech, the government has committed to “getting back to basics with a focus on education.”

“Saskatchewan continues to spend the most per-capita among provinces, this past year saw an increase to the education budget of 8.8 per cent for a total of $2.2 billion in school operating funding,” the statement read.

“Included in the 2024-25 budget is $356.6 million for classroom supports, an increase of $45.6 million, or 14.7 per cent, over the previous year and is part of a multi-year funding agreement with all 27 school divisions.”

According to the ministry, this funding allows school divisions to hire more teachers, educational assistants, speech-language pathologists, counsellors, education psychologists, or other needed supports.

It said funding for classroom supports is determined using several factors like enrolment and student vulnerability levels.

“School divisions have the responsibility to make staffing and programming decisions within their allocated budget to address the needs of all their students to ensure that all students have equal access to, and benefit from, the provincial education program in an inclusive educational setting,” the statement continued.

It said for the 2024-25 school year, Saskatoon Public Schools is receiving approximately $286 million in operating funding.