Sask. announces new $2.5M 'teacher innovation fund' amid bargaining stalemate

The Saskatchewan government has launched a new teacher "innovation and support" fund as bargaining negotiations with educators remain stalemated.

In its announcement on Wednesday – the government said the pilot project will foster teacher-led solutions to “classroom and student needs.”

The project will begin immediately and applications are currently being accepted from teachers throughout the province.

The fund marks the second education related announcement made by the government this week.

The first – a $3.6 million “specialized classroom support” program – was met by questions over the government’s intentions by the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF).

STF President Samantha Becotte said the program sounded "interesting" but accused the government of trying to sidestep the bargaining process.

She reiterated the point Wednesday – adding teachers are concerned about the lack of long-term commitment by the province.

“We need to see those commitments extend beyond the election,” she said.

“There is a great deal of fear from teachers that while these pilots are announced – they're only announced until the end of next school year … that will get government past their election and we have seen before where those election promises go away very quickly and we see further reductions to support in schools.”

The newly-announced teacher innovation fund will total $2.5 million and will be offered until the end of the 2024-2025 school year.

A minimum of $10,000 will be allocated for each approved project submitted by teachers – up to a maximum of $75,000.

Once the money is gone no further projects will be funded, according to the province.

“The goal of this fund is to have local, innovative ideas be brought forward to continue to enhance our classrooms in such areas as student achievement, student and teacher wellness, and school safety,” a news release from the province said.

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The pair of education funding announcements comes as negotiations between the STF and the province have struggled to move forward.

According to the STF, the province’s refusal to include matters of class size and complexity in bargaining negotiations has essentially ground talks to a halt.

However, the Saskatchewan government has maintained that those matters should be left up to school divisions and only compensation should be discussed at the bargaining table.

Both parties headed to a third-party conciliator in December. The union says the conciliator suggested that working conditions should be up for discussion — meaning class sizes and other issues.

However, the province's disagrees with the STF's interpretation of the ruling.

Educators in Saskatchewan have been without a collective agreement since August.

Becotte added that there were no updates to negotiations on Wednesday.

“Nothing new since yesterday, although we continue to provide opportunities for government to give the Government-Trustee Bargaining Committee (GTBC) a new mandate to get back to the table and start having conversations around those big issues,” she explained.

“It shouldn't be this hard, it should be a higher priority of this government and that's what we'll continue to push for and continue to hope to see longer term commitments.”