The provincial government understands that the funding formula for schools doesn’t take into account new student arriving throughout the year, which happens more now because of immigration. That’s why the Ministry of Education has been working with education sector partners to come up with a new formula for ongoing support for school divisions that see a substantial increase in enrolment past September 30th. This comes a day after the impasse in bargaining was announced between the government and Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation.

A news release from the Education Ministry says to recognize significant growth throughout the year, a threshold was developed to determine a school division’s eligibility for extra funding. This formula measures growth from October 1st to January 31st, and projects growth through the spring. The estimated growth at the end of January aligns with the start of the second semester, which the government says allows school divisions to plan and staff more effectively for the rest of the school year.

The news release doesn’t say if that begins this year or not, but states that in June, the government announced an additional $40 million to support enrolment growth and class size and complexity.