Thread by @sbotas99

So, I have more than one person ask how education in Saskatchewan came to be such a mess, and while it is a complicated issue, it all boils down to one specific event. If we understand that event, we can actually understand the greater Sask Party mindset and method. A thread...

For a very long time, school boards in Saskatchewan were quite powerful. Specifically they could directly control education property taxes for their division's territory. If they needed more funding, they could simply raise the mill rate as needed.

This was actually pretty useful, because different divisions had different needs. For example, a very rural division will have completely different transportation costs than an urban division. Staffing ratios and demands are different.

But the Sask Party, as is their way, loves to centralize authority within themselves. They stripped this authority from school boards (link below). Basically they just moved all education taxes into general revenue, and then set education funding.

cbc.ca/news/canada/sa…

Funding is largely on a per-student basis. It lowered property taxes, especially in rural areas. But at a cost. It has led to a steady erosion in education funding over the last decade. We focus on capital expenditures because it's the only place we spend

fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/…

This has also absolutely crushed urban divisions. The cuts to funding mean that rural divisions are very limited in their ability to offer special programming. Their families are spread out, and there often aren't enough students to merit a special needs classroom.

So these families move to cities. So urban divisions wind up with much higher relative high-needs populations, paired with the existing needs an urban population has. Programs get cut, funding gets slashed. And what we can do about it? Nothing, because boards have no choice...

but to play the cards they're dealt. And if they publicly criticize the government? Well, then they're biting the hand that feeds it. This is our government's way. They centralize power, obfuscate, and then use it as an excuse to tear down the public system for private profit.

Your kid isn't getting the support they need in class? Not to worry, you can send them to Kumon, or Mathnasium, or any of the other tutoring or enrichment services, which are doing what our public schools should be. The Sask Party takes power, and deflects responsibility.