The President of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation believes the provincial government is rushing through the process of developing a new Distance Learning Crown Corporation without meaningful consultation. Samantha Becotte says there are very real and urgent issues that need to be addressed first, before moving on to a Crown Corporation, because there aren’t enough staff to attend to students’ needs.

A month ago, the STF, the Saskatchewan School Boards Association, the League of Educational Administrators, Directors and Superintendents, and the Saskatchewan Association of School Business Officials raised concerns about the process and requested an opportunity to provide input, but Becotte says they have had no response. She wonders why an out-of-province consultant who she believes has a passion for privatization, has been hired, rather than working with education partners in Saskatchewan. Becotte says the Distance Learning Crown Corporation is a large and complicated project that shouldn’t be rushed.