Education minister says goals are focused on election commitments

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This article was published 10/11/2023 (1041 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The New Democrat government will present its plan for an education funding model by the end of January or early February 2024, before the entire budget is released.

“We’re (going to be) the first out of the gate, even before our budget in April,” Nello Altomare, minister of education and early childhood learning, told the Sun. “School divisions will be eagerly anticipating that, but (we will) also be communicating with (school divisions) throughout this process right up until the end of January, so we can provide them the support they need.”

Altomare confirmed that the government was busy working on providing funding that is stable and predictable for school divisions, which would enable school divisions to plan years in advance. He couldn’t specify numbers yet, but he did say that the funding for school divisions would be “at minimum” matching the rate of economic growth.

Altomare, a former teacher and school principal in what is now the River East Transcona School Division, said he and his staff’s goals echo the NDP platform promises of consistent funding, child nutrition across the province, meeting the needs of every student and reducing class sizes. He said the plans are in the early stages, with the NDP being in office for one month, but that the focus is on delivering those election promises.

“Schools are the great equalizers in our society. And that means providing opportunity for kids that come from lower socioeconomic places. We will try to level the playing field by ensuring equity inclusion in schools,” Altomare said. That includes “making sure that Indigenous kids, their culture and history is respected in our public schools.”

Another focus for Manitoba Education is recruiting students back to public education who may have been lost due to COVID repercussions.

“The pandemic had a profound impact on public education,” said Altomare. “We’ve had a challenge getting some kids back. And we must work continually work to do that.”

Many more families turned to home-schooling when the pandemic hit. For the 2020-21 school year, home-school registrations in Manitoba jumped to 8,027 students from 3,689 students in the 2019-20 year. Home-schooling registration is still significant in 2023 at 4,629 students registered as being home-schooled in Manitoba.

“(School divisions) just need a few more extra resources to make sure that they can get this job done … And we need to ensure that that school divisions are reaching out and have the resources to do that to get kids back into the classroom,” Altomare said.

Getting kids into the classroom and reducing class sizes will continue to be an NDP priority, he said.

“The best thing that we can do for kids is make sure that they have a teacher in front of them. That is providing the support they need, whatever way that looks like,” he added. “Schools are looked upon as that one consistent solid support system for kids and families. And we look forward to working in partnership with school divisions to continue that work.”

Altomare said he plans to tour school divisions in southern Manitoba some time during the next couple of months.

» khenderson@brandonsun.com