‘That’s not inclusive education’: Surrey school district cuts 50 education assistant positions

The Surrey School District will slash about 50 education assistant positions because of their $16 million budget shortfall.

Schools in Surrey will have fewer education assistants as the district will be cutting approximately 50 positions.

The decision was announced at the public school board meeting earlier this month as the district grapples with a $16 million budget shortfall.

Claudia Chiesa, a parent in the district, has a 14-year-old son with autism. The news is devastating for her.

“That’s crazy because – just as it is – it’s really hard for not just the parents, but for the kids”, explains Chiesa.

“They don’t get one-on-one because there is one person for four or five kids.”

Chiesa says she has already had to pull her son out of class, sometimes for three weeks at a time, because he didn’t receive enough attention in the classroom or was left without an EA.

“I don’t know if my kid is okay. I don’t know if he’s scared. I don’t know if he’s actually being taken care of. I prefer to have him home rather than worrying,” she said.

Terry Allen, vice-chair of the Surrey school district, says it was a difficult decision to make.

“There won’t be physical layoffs but we won’t be hiring EAs to fill those positions, which, at the end of the day, will amount to hours cut across the district.”

“Certainly for those parents with special needs, all cases will be received and the very best service will be given to them with whatever we have left.”

Allen says without more funding from the province, the district will be forced to make more cuts.

“It will not stop. The erosion of these services will not stop until the government funds education to the level it should”, says Allen.

‘We are already working short staffed’

Tammy Murphy is the president of CUPE 728, the union representing education assistants.

She says the news was sad and shocking, and that the system is already stretched too thin.

“It’s really tragic the way that the system is going when we talk about inclusive learning and an inclusive school process,” she said. “We’re not inclusive where we are basically putting kids in catchment schools and saying,‘Here’s where you need to be.’”

Murphy worked as an EA for 27 years prior to becoming union president. She says the nature of the role has also changed dramatically.

“We had the ability to go in and focus on kids that are now slipping through the cracks,” she old CTV News.

“We all knew that, getting into this job, you’re dealing with behaviour, you’re dealing with diverse needs, you’re dealing with all sorts of things. But we were also educating and I don’t think we’re educating right now.”

She says her members often come to her feeling burnt out or mentally exhausted, and she fears more staff will start leaving the profession entirely.

“They’re thinking they don’t mean anything to the district. We are already working short staffed, EAs are burning out in the school district.”

Murphy understands the budget issues the district is facing, but she is shocked that the district would make cuts that affect the most vulnerable students.

“Why are we cutting here? Why aren’t we looking at other options? I just don’t feel like the options have all been weighed. I think that it just seemed like the easiest thing to do.”