Closing curriculum centre short-sighted

Opinion

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This article was published 09/04/2019 (2380 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeggers like to joke about finding a good bargain, but when it comes to educational expertise, the right thing is to pay professionals what they’re worth.

In a recent question period at the Manitoba legislature, NDP education critic Matt Wiebe quoted a teacher who was concerned about the April 1 closure of the Curriculum Support Centre. The province is moving the centre’s resources online and shifting the 13 staff members into different jobs.

Manitoba’s Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen responded that teachers should be more concerned about the salary of the Winnipeg School Division superintendent, Pauline Clarke. This is obfuscation rather than answering the question; instead of addressing the needs of public school teachers, Goertzen sought to distract the public with an irrelevant statistic.

The Winnipeg School Division superintendent’s salary is public knowledge; according to the 2017 public compensation disclosure, it was $266,040. While some say that’s high, school superintendents have difficult jobs. The WSD superintendent is in charge of 33,000 students; superintendents manage salaries, expenses, budgets, safety, facilities and the varied needs of their students, without adhering to cutthroat corporate practices.

Instead of cutting expenses to meet the bottom line, they adjust to meet students’ educational, physical, social and psychological needs. It’s a tall order. Corporate CEOs often earn much more.

Doing research online, I discovered that WSD’s superintendent is earning about what other city school superintendents earn. For example, after a recent salary cut, Alberta’s top superintendent’s salary is $275,000.

This job is so challenging that most superintendents stay in their positions for five years or less. Some places provide a housing and vehicle stipend and pension add-ons. This work generates a higher salary because education requires competent administration.

The WSD school superintendent is being paid about the going rate. The WSD is a challenging district, with economic diversity as well as every other kind of diversity in terms of learners. As one measure, students speak many languages at home, but WSD students graduate with proficiency in French and/or English.

Most Winnipeggers would conclude that education is worth the expense, particularly when the superintendent is earning nothing more than the average.

Meanwhile, our education minister didn’t explain how educators should cope with the closure of the Curriculum Support Centre, aside from saying, “There’s been something developed called the internet.”

There are at least two obvious problems here:

First, many schools and teachers in rural areas don’t yet have easy internet access.

Second, if a teacher accesses, for instance, an elementary school math game off the internet, she must print out the materials, produce the game pieces and assemble it. The one-time cost of “producing” the game for a single classroom doesn’t include the teacher’s salaried time spent finding it online and manufacturing it.

By contrast, if the teacher was familiar with the resources available at the centralized Curriculum Support Centre, she would have been able to request the game, have it delivered and let students play it. Which is the better use of the teacher’s instructional time?

This concern addressed by Wiebe about the Curriculum Support Centre echoed comments I’ve heard in Winnipeg since this announcement. Teachers relied on hands-on learning materials from this support centre.

With Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative government closing this facility, it will reduce resources that teachers have available. The internet doesn’t provide an adequate substitute.

A good education teaches us to think critically and analyze information provided by those in power.

We deserve good educational professionals and resources to meet our children’s learning needs. Let’s educate kids so they can participate in our democracy as smart, voting Manitobans.

Educators, parents and government critics are asking logical questions. It’s time for government to provide constructive answers.

Joanne Seiff is a Winnipeg freelance writer and the author of three books. She also holds a master’s degree in education and has experience teaching high school, university and graduate students.