{"id":34652,"date":"2020-07-24T12:50:57","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T16:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/?p=34652"},"modified":"2020-07-24T12:50:57","modified_gmt":"2020-07-24T16:50:57","slug":"horwath-calls-for-more-staff-more-classrooms-to-make-five-day-school-safe-for-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wawa-news.com\/index.php\/2020\/07\/24\/horwath-calls-for-more-staff-more-classrooms-to-make-five-day-school-safe-for-all\/","title":{"rendered":"Horwath calls for more staff, more classrooms to make five-day school safe for all"},"content":{"rendered":"

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Doug Ford shouldn\u2019t just hope it\u2019ll be safe for students to attend school five days a week in the fall \u2014 he should make it safe.<\/p>\n

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The Official Opposition leader was in Brampton Friday, where she acknowledged the pressure parents are coping with, and the solution she believes the premier should be putting in place immediately. \u201cDuring this pandemic, parents have been doing the superhuman work of juggling parenting, working from home and supporting kids with at-home learning,\u201d said Horwath. \u201cKnowing how incredibly difficult that\u2019s been, I\u2019m shocked that Doug Ford appears not to be taking any action at all to get enough safe, small classrooms ready so every child can go back to school in the fall.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf I were premier, I\u2019d be hiring teachers and education workers, sourcing temporary classrooms, and getting extra supports lined up for students with special needs. There\u2019s no time to waste if we\u2019re going to be ready for fall.\u201d Instead, with five weeks left to go before school is supposed to start, Ford has panicked parents by pitching an unworkable hybrid model, which will leave families to hunt for child care, or stop working to stay home multiple days a week. Horwath said there\u2019s no reason to consider the hybrid model except to save the costs associated with temporarily smaller class sizes.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMr. Ford is trying to save money on the backs of our children again,\u201d said Horwath. \u201cGiving all students a class to go to every day, instead of just half of them, is an investment not only in kids and their education, but also it\u2019s also an investment in their parents, and in getting our economy moving again.\u201d Ford has been making deep cuts to education, including a plan to slash thousands of teachers and education workers and hike class sizes. By cutting funding for school building and repairs, he\u2019s allowed the backlog of necessary repairs grow to $16.3 billion.<\/p>\n

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Funding cuts<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n