REGINA -- Teachers and parents say the province could still do more to address school safety after it announced $40 million to help with staffing and sanitizing.

Patrick Maze, the president of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation, said on Monday that teachers would still like to see measures to improve physical distancing.

“There’s still other issues we’d like to see, things like contactless thermometers. Alberta schools are all equipped with thermometers,” Maze said. “We still have a lot of work to do as far as getting social distancing right.”

Maze said the announcement is symbolic of the “scrambley” nature this whole process has been.

The government initially came out with a plan two weeks ago, but after facing pushback from parents and teachers, it changed course.

Premier Scott Moe said on Monday the plan was built to be adaptive.

It will see $40 million go towards staffing, sanitization, testing and online learning.  

"I want to ensure that we are providing more resources, more information, more time and more testing capacity to ensure a safe return to school this fall," he said.

Moe said he feels the plan provides layers of protection.

"This is a very public conversation that we are having and it’s a good thing that we are having it because we are going to find a place that will be the safest environment for our children to return to school," Moe said.

But NDP Opposition Leader Ryan Meili said more needs to be done to address class sizes and that this plan doesn’t provide re-assurance.

"We just saw this government once again pass the buck down on to school divisions to make the major decisions, pass the buck on to parents, we even heard the Premier passing the buck and calling for personal responsibility from kids as young as six," Meili said.

Moe said he is encouraging all school divisions to use their capital assets, so they have the greatest ability to reduce class sizes.

"There may be some specific situations where we may have to provide funding to reduce class size," he added.

Maze said the funding is a start, but he hopes there will be enough for all school divisions in Saskatchewan.

“I’m hoping that it’s enough when we’re talking about making sure the HVAC systems, the ventilation systems, are working properly,” he said.

“And staffing is expensive. When you are hiring maintenance staff, hiring new educational assistance, money can get used up quickly.”

More details of the province’s plan can be found here.

— With files from Stefanie Davis.