Hundreds protest education cuts

About 200 protesters rallied against cuts to P.E.I. education at Province House in Charlottetown Sunday afternoon.

The province has cut 32 teaching positions for September. That brings the number of teaching positions that have been chopped in the past three years to more than 100.

A group of concerned parents who organized the protest say, if cuts continue, students will pay the price.

Organizer Marcella Bradley-Byrne wants the province to reinstate the teaching positions that have been cut for the upcoming school year.

"You're going to probably see more school closures and parents are going to see their children in classes of 30 and maybe plus."

"Everybody hears about teacher cuts and feels it is a concern and like I said, nobody really wants to take them out. We have had a reduction in student numbers though of over 5,000 students."

Gilles Arsenault, president of the P.E.I. Teachers' Federation, says the cuts are concerning.

"Education, it might not be as high of a priority as they like us to believe."

Organizers say they're happy with the turnout and hope the rally shows the province Islanders are worried.

"If they know the people, the voters are not happy, maybe they'll make a change," said Bradley-Byrne.

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