Our kids deserve the best

Right now everyone is struggling to keep up with inflation, including local school divisions. The province should be there to help. But instead of investing in our kids at schools such as Gladstone, Fort Rouge, Churchill, Lord Roberts and Riverview, the Progressive Conservative government is still refusing to fund education to match inflation and rising enrolment. After years of PC underfunding, anything less than that is a straight cut. And that’s wrong because our kids deserve the best.

Years of PC cuts to education have led to larger class sizes and that means less one-on-one attention for kids in Fort Rouge. In fact, one of the first things the PCs did when they formed government was remove the NDP cap on class sizes. You might have seen parents speaking out in the media recently about how ballooning class sizes are negatively affecting their children’s ability to learn. After all the interruptions to in-person learning during the pandemic, students need more support not less to reach their full potential.

It’s not just parents who are frustrated with PC education cuts. Teachers and educators have been calling for more education funding for years. But, instead of listening to the experts, the PCs told teachers to pay out-of-pocket for school supplies and tried to push through Bill 64 to bring in even more cuts during the pandemic. And now they’re hiding their education funding model from school divisions, leaving educators skeptical that education funding will improve if the PCs stay in power.

The Manitoba NDP believes our kids deserve the very best. We would fund schools properly and keep class sizes small so every child is set up for success. We would listen to educators and work with school divisions to help them meet the unique needs of their students. And we’d introduce a universal nutrition program so every child can focus on learning instead of hunger.

It’s time for a government that invests in our kids. If you have a story about how PC cuts to education have hurt your family, please share it with me. Contact my office by calling 204-615-1922 or emailing me at wab.kinew@yourmanitoba.ca

Wab Kinew
Fort Rouge constituency report

Wab Kinew is the NDP MLA for Fort Rouge and leader of the Manitoba New Democratic Party.

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