The Saskatchewan Teachers Federation (STF) and the Saskatchewan NDP are speaking out against the Saskatchewan government's recent move to partner with a private school for literacy programs.The government announced that Prairie Spirit School Division would work with Roadways Literacy, a private school.STF President Samantha Becotte expressed strong disapproval of the partnership. “This announcement of Prairie Spirit School Division partnering with Roadways Literacy, a qualified-independent school, is yet another choice of this government to privatize education,” said Becotte. “Literacy support programs already exist in school divisions but aren’t fully meeting students’ needs due to ongoing budget cuts. Many remain in existence because charities fundraise to fill the gap.”Becotte also highlighted a growing funding gap between public and independent schools.From 2020-21 to 2024-25, funding for independent schools increased by 79%, while public school funding increased by only 13%. More parents are choosing to remove their children from the public system after recent controversies over sexual education, such as the sex cards scandal in Lumsden last year..Planned Parenthood ‘sex cards’ at Sask school sparks parents' outrage.“Government continues to funnel taxpayer dollars to private schools while students in public schools are in crisis and go without the supports they need,” said Becotte. “I want to be very clear: this is a calculated government choice to prop up private enterprises rather than address the challenges of their own creation in public schools. This is not in the best interest of the majority of Saskatchewan families. It is the purposeful undermining of public systems and a push to privatization of services Saskatchewan families depend on.”Becotte urged the government and Prairie Spirit's board of trustees to change their decision.“Public school trustees should be advocating with government for increased funding to meet the needs of the students in their schools, not seeking ways to divert funds to private schools,” said Becotte. “This very act is an admission that government is starving the system and school board trustees are mismanaging their personnel and the funds they allocate to student learning.”Matt Love, NDP education critic, shared similar concerns and warned that this partnership could lead to more private involvement in public education.“This opens the door to further privatization in the K-12 system,” said Love.“The right solution would be to adequately fund our public schools, something the Sask Party has failed to do for the last decade.”“The Sask Party has taken our province from first to last place in Canada in terms of per-student operating funding. We have 15,000 additional students and the equivalent of only one new teacher,” said Love.“We need to get Saskatchewan out of last place on education. Entering contracts with private schools is not the answer. Adequate funding for school divisions is the way to go, which is why Carla Beck and the Saskatchewan NDP have committed to reversing Scott Moe’s cuts and making a generational $2B investment in our kids’ futures.”
