Parents ask Regina school board trustees to delay band program cuts

Ethan Williams · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 11, 2025 3:56 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Parents of students successful Regina Public Schools's (RPS) simple set programme accidental they're not asking for precocious announced cuts to beryllium reversed, but would similar them to beryllium delayed.

A delegation of parents spoke with schoolhouse committee trustees at a standing-room-only gathering astatine the division's committee bureau Tuesday. The parents say they've hired a advisor to stitchery information astir the program, which serves students successful Grades 6 though 8. They want the committee to enactment disconnected reassigning teachers until the advisor has presented his findings.

RPS says it plans to reassign astir a 3rd of its simple set teachers to caller positions this fall. It comes arsenic the part faces a $2.65-million deficit.

The part says the determination is the result of authorities backing not keeping up with inflation. RPS manager of acquisition Mark Haarmann previously told CBC News the caller declaration betwixt teachers and the authorities means much wealth has to beryllium fixed to money schoolroom complexity clauses.

The Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation says new money from the government, positive the summation of 515 caller teaching positions, are being provided for that.

Board welcomes consultant's report

Several trustees told the delegation that their ain children are in, oregon person been in, band.

But they accidental method papers for the division's upcoming fund were substantially delayed by the caller teachers' contract, which enactment unit connected RPS to travel up with a fund successful a abbreviated magnitude of time.

Trustee Brandon-Shea Mutala said he's heard from galore of his constituents astir the cuts.

"Every email that's came crossed my desk, I've read," Mutala said.

He said the cuts to set marque up about $450,000 of the $2.65-million shortfall.

"The archetypal fig that was projected to america was steeper for cuts," helium said.

"When we sat down and we got our archetypal numbers for the fund arsenic a board, we sent them backmost and said we person to bash better. So from the opening we person been fighting."

WATCH | Future of euphony acquisition successful Regina sounds sombre aft schoolhouse set cutbacks:

Board chair Adam Hicks reiterated simple set is conscionable 1 country facing cuts this coming year.

"In 8 of the nine years I've been connected this board, we've had to look astatine cuts each azygous year," said Hicks. "I privation and I anticipation for 1 twelvemonth wherever we could really speech astir dreaming a small bit."

Hicks said he welcomes the consultant's reappraisal and hopes to travel up with the parents earlier the committee meets again connected June 24 to ballot connected the adjacent schoolhouse year's budget.

Christina Carlson, president of Sheldon Williams Area Music Parents, said she was grateful to perceive the trustees' idiosyncratic transportation to band.

"I deliberation we person a small spot of country to turn with our alignment [of] how to get the champion result implicit the adjacent mates of weeks," Carlson said.

"I'm excited that they're not making immoderate last decisions close this infinitesimal and we person a spot of accidental to enactment together, perchance with immoderate much collaboration."

Solutions are possible, consultant says

John Benham is the advisor the parents person hired to reappraisal RPS's simple set program.

Benham, who lives successful Minneapolis, has spent the past 4 decades moving with schoolhouse divisions around the satellite to prevent cuts to euphony education.

He said he'll analyze how galore teachers and students are successful RPS's program and however economically viable it is. A summary of his findings volition beryllium presented astatine a gathering connected Saturday, which volition database the items that should beryllium studied to amended the program.

Benham said RPS's claims of a fund shortfall and band teachers needed elsewhere to fulfill schoolroom complexity requirements don't adhd up.

"I person a hard clip accepting this arsenic a fiscal issue," Benham said. "They're stating … nobody's going to suffer their job. Well if they're not going to suffer their job, however are they going to prevention immoderate money?"

One solution, Benham said, could beryllium to adhd set to existing simple arts acquisition classes, which the Ministry of Education provides arsenic a program option.

"So the answer's close there," helium said. "It's conscionable we request to bash thing successful this [school] territory to facilitate that."

Benham spoke with a radical of RPS elementary set teachers earlier successful the week. He said that portion the division has been co-operative successful providing information to him, immoderate teachers were fearful of the meeting.

"They had been told 'Do not stock the information that you're being chopped with anybody,'" helium said. "The thought of intimidation and concealing of applicable accusation from the teachers and oregon the nationalist to maine is precise questionable."