‘I often felt like it was taken away from my own children, by spending my salary on needs for the classroom,’ says one teacher at rally in downtown Barrie today
Editor’s note: The following story has been updated from its original version to include comments from the Ministry of Education.
“They say cut back – we say fight back,” is the chant echoing through downtown Barrie as numerous union members, teachers, and custodians gathered to protest provincial cuts to education funding.
The province-wide Fight for Education Day of Action happened just before noon on Aug. 29 at the corner of Collier and Mulcaster streets, right across from Barrie City Hall.
The protesters waved signs and flags on the sidewalk while one person used a bullhorn to lead chants.
Josh Goodeill, a member of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association who has taught in local schools for 26 years, believes it’s crucial to voice their concerns over what they describe as cuts to education.
He pointed out a new government initiative offering teachers $750 cards for buying school supplies, but noted that “it is only for some teachers in the classroom, while other teachers don’t have access to that.”
“As a classroom teacher for 26 years, I supplied a classroom library of books for my class, art supplies and all kinds of resources. I’d buy mitts to bring in for my kids in the wintertime when they didn’t have any,” he told Barrie Today.
“Just all the resources: the markers, the pencils – there’s just not enough in the schools,” Goodeill added.
“I often felt like it was taken away from my own children, by spending my salary on needs for the classroom,” he said.
Nearby, Misty Archer, a custodian in Orillia, believes she and her coworkers are being asked to handle more work than they should be responsible for with cleaning and maintaining everything within the buildings.
She mentioned attending the rally “to show support, solidarity and to fight back against Doug Ford, and make the public aware.”
Also present was Anne Marie Brunner, vice-president of CUPE Local 3987 and president of the Barrie District Labour Council.
“The public needs to know where funding isn’t going. It is not going into classrooms. It is not going towards maintenance; it’s not going towards qualified supplies,” Brunner said.
“And we, as custodians and maintenance staff see firsthand broken furniture or damaged windows. We have to stop what we’re doing clean up these messes that unfortunately these children can’t control; this then creates additional work throughout our day.”
A specific concern she raised was when maintenance staff must halt work at one school only to rush off to another school because of an urgent issue there.
“And people need to be informed so they can ask questions,” Brunner said.
“What’s next?” she questioned. “Cutting how much your school gets cleaned? Cutting how much reading time your kids can get? Cutting libraries and tech? Right now most schools buy their own tech – they fundraise money just so students can have access.”
The province claims education funding is increasing.
“Our government continues to make historic investments in education to protect student learning; strengthen classrooms; and ensure students and teachers have supports needed for success,” stated Emma Testani, press secretary for the education minister.
“This year Ontario is providing a record $30.6 billion in core education funding which marks an increase of $7.2 billion or 30.8 percent since 2018-outstripping inflation which stood at 27.1 percent during that same timeframe,” Testani added.
Teachers and custodians take part in the province-wide Fight for Education Day of Action protest on Saturday morning in downtown Barrie. | Kevin Lamb/Barrie Today
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