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Jonathon Naylor Editor A frustrated Flin Flon School Board is speaking out against a provincial law some trustees believe could do more harm than good. Trustees voted last week to write a letter to Education Minister Nancy Allan outlining their concerns with the incoming restriction on early-years class sizes. 'While I like the fact that the minister is concerned about class size, I'm not so happy that she decides now how we run our classrooms,' Trustee Glenn Smith said at the June 26 school board meeting. 'There's a lot of hand-tying here on our decision-making.' By September 2017, all school divisions in Manitoba must limit the vast majority of kindergarten to Grade 3 classrooms to 20 students. The Flin Flon School Division is beginning to implement the restriction in kindergarten this fall, with some unwelcome consequences. The law has forced the division to turn down parental requests to have six students attend Ecole McIsaac School instead of Ruth Betts Community School this fall. Such refusals, Trustee Smith said, 'could be a regular occurrence' due to the new restriction. He questioned why a maximum of 20 students is 'somehow a magical number that's different from 21.' Trustee Karen Yeo, vice-chair of the board, concurred. 'Where do you draw the line? Twenty? Twenty-one?' she asked rhetorically. Financial consequences of the cap brought further concerns. This fall, the province will give the division an extra $30,000 to help cover staffing costs. But moving forward, trustees do not expect the government to fully fund the class size mandate. 'The taxpayers will be on the hook for providing some (extra) teachers, and you're going to lose other programs,' said Trustee Murray Skeavington, board chair. The restriction also means some parents will now have one child at McIsaac and another at Ruth Betts, Trustee Smith said. He further noted the rule could lead to more split classes with students from two different grades. He wondered whether 20 students in different grades is really preferable to 22 students in the same grade. Not budging But neither Allan nor her government are budging. In a recent news release, the minister said 'smaller class sizes and investments in teaching contribute significantly to improving student achievement, as students do better when they receive more one-on-one time with their teacher.' Superintendent Blaine Veitch said all K-3 classrooms in Flin Flon will meet the 20-student restriction this fall, five years ahead of schedule. Trustee Smith said he was pleased to hear that 'but we haven't met this with the full satisfaction of the community.' A former educator himself, he said it's not as though trustees are oblivious to concerns associated with large classes. 'We're not stupid enough to put 40 kids or 30 kids in a classroom,' he said. 'We would do our job as proper educators.' Trustee Smith made a motion to send a letter to Allan stating that while trustees appreciate her attention to class sizes, the law carries unwelcome repercussions. The motion carried 5-2, with trustees Vicki Davie and Trish Sattelberger opposed. Current enrollment figures show McIsaac and Ruth Betts will combine for five kindergarten classes this fall. McIsaac will have two English classes of 20 and 19 students and one French Immersion class of eight students. Ruth Betts will have two classes of 16 and 15 pupils. See 'McIsaac...' on pg. 9 Continued from pg. 6 In Grade 1, McIsaac will have two English classes of 18 and 19 students and one French Immersion class of 16 students. Ruth Betts will have one class of 17 pupils as well as a grade 1/2 class of 18 students. At the Grade 2 level, McIsaac will have two English classes of 16 students each, while Ruth Betts will have one class with 19 students. McIsaac will have a grade 2/3 French Immersion class of 18 students. In Grade 3, McIsaac will have two English classes of 19 students each. The lone class at Ruth Betts will have the same number. These totals could change over the summer if new students move into the community. While the province's restriction applies to most K-3 classes, there is some wiggle room. Ten per cent of K-3 classrooms within a division will be allowed to have as many as 23 students. When Grade 3 students are combined with students in higher grades, the class size cannot exceed 23 students. The parents who applied to have their students attend McIsaac live in the jurisdiction of Ruth Betts but have the option of requesting McIsaac. Parents in the McIsaac area can also apply to have their students attend Ruth Betts.
