Possibility of amalgamated school divisions 'no secret' as province asks for cuts, says superintendent

Days after the Manitoba government directed the province's school divisions to trim 15 per cent of management staff, administrators say they're worried about how they'll meet the mandate.

Alan Campbell, president of the Manitoba School Boards Association, said the directivedidn't come as a surprise, but it might be a difficult task for small divisions outside Winnipeg.

"In the public sector in rural Manitoba, school divisions are already very tight," he told CBC Information Radio host Marcy Markusa Friday morning.

"You have a handful of department heads that are responsible for the education of, still, thousands of students in various rural Manitoba school divisions."

Todd Cuddington, superintendent for the Portage la Prairie School Division which has about 500 staff and 3,500 students said he wants more details from the province about how already small school divisions like his are expected to make the reductions.

"School divisions, especially rural divisions they're fairly lean right now," said Cuddington, who also serves as the division's secretary and treasurer. "So finding that 15 per cent will need some direction."

Ahead of an upcoming review of kindergarten to Grade 12 education in Manitoba, government officials have said all options remain on the table to boost grades and control costs, including removing or reducing the number of school boards.

Cuddington said he's anxious to see the recommendations that come out of the province's education review, which is expected to be published over the next few months.

"I anticipate that one of the things that we'll move towards is amalgamation of [school divisions]," he told CBC Radio Noon host Samantha Samson on Friday. "That's no secret."

Association wants to meet with minister

Campbell wouldn't speculate about whether the recent directive to cut positions signals the province is gearing up to amalgamate or eliminate any school divisions but said the possibility is on his mind.

"You can imagine that any chance I have to have a conversation with [Education Minister Kelvin] Goertzen, those are the types of questions that we ask," he said.

"We will advocate strongly for what is best for our communities and for our local public schools, and we would argue that forced amalgamation has never saved a cent of Manitoba taxpayer money."

Campbell said he hopes to meet with Goertzen before the recommendations of the education review are made public.

"School boards would take any opportunity to meet in advance of the report so that we can begin to prepare for any of the recommendations or help our members consult with government in a meaningful way," he said.

"We're cautiously optimistic So we're happy to get the review announced and understand how to move forward with government."