By Adam Ophus

Hiring

Wild Rose School will be hiring despite COVID-19

Jun 8, 2020 | 12:08 PM

Wild Rose School Division is bucking the trend by planning to hire new staff for the next school year.

Last week, trustees approval of division’s $60 million budget for the 2020-2021 school year. It includes an operating deficit of $1.5 million that will be covered using reserves.

The school division has been seeing declining student enrollment over the last few years and will be moving to a Weighted Moving Average, as per previously announce changes by provincial government, which uses student numbers across three school years do determine funding for the upcoming year.

Officials with the division say the budget ensures for Student Services and the Family Wellness Worker programs to be maintained at the 2019-2020 levels.

Wild Rose Schools Superintendent Brad Volkman said that six Full-Time Equivalent positions will be scattered throughout the division.

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“This is still being determined by our HR department as they work with each school to ensure they are staffed appropriately for their 2020-21 projected student enrollment,” Volkman mentioned as to where those new positions will allocated. “In some cases part time teachers may have an increase to their hours and in other cases new teachers will be hired.”

Moving forward, Volkman noted that like many organizations there will be permanent changes at Wild Rose School Division following COVID -19.

“Our staff have learned some new ways to work and teach students while our students and families have learned some new ways to learn and interact with our schools. Some of these new ways may actually end up staying with us as we gradually move back to full classrooms. It is still too early to define them.”

Wild Rose School Division has not clarified what the exact plan will be for the next school year will be until further government direction has been given regarding COVID-19.