Thanks, Mr. Speaker. The Minister and I have to respectfully agree to disagree. He is forcing the boards to make one of two bad options. They either use their contingency to fund the shortfall or they have to cut staff and increase their class sizes and reduce the quality of education.
The boards use this contingency money to fund extra staff, so they may get a special needs student who needs an assistant. They may get an extra 20 students in September that they need to find a staff person for.
I would like to know from the Minister, without a surplus, if my board has no surplus, in such a situation where I have an extra 20 or 25 students come September, can a school expect funding assistance from Education, Culture and Employment? Thank you.