Teachers' video campaigns say education in N.S. has been 'cut to the core'

HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia Teachers Union (NSTU) has launched a new television ad to fight provincial education budget cuts.

It’s part of a campaign called "Cut to the Core," which is exactly how NSTU describes the province's education system.



Union president Alexis Allen says she wants the public to know the new budget cuts can't be met without harming students.

"We need more support, not fewer supports for our students and for our teachers," Allen says. "Having larger class sizes and cutting programs is not in the best interest of our children. So, we're asking, please sign the petition  to tell this government and particularly the minister to say enough is enough."

So far more than 1,000 people have sent letters to their MLAs and more than 5,500 have signed a petition asking the government to restore funding to school boards.

The Nova Scotia School Board Association (NSSBA) is also launching a video campaign to get the province to lower its new target budgets.

According to president Vic Fleury, N.S. is already the province with second lowest per-student funding in the country.

"We're hoping to see some alterations in the size of the reductions in the cut to education in this province we really are," says Fleury.

But a spokesperson for department of education insists the province’s new budget targets reflect the needs and the numbers of students in N.S.

"We are adequately resourcing the public school system,” says Peter McLaughlin. “I think what people really need to understand that we really do have to do things differently."

Changes to the new budget targets are not likely, he adds.

"The figures are never final until budget day, but those numbers are very firm."