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Alberta Teachers’ Association president Jason Schilling said losing support staff could negatively impact that transition period, as educational assistants are expected to play a big role in transitioning course delivery for the remainder of the school year.

“Education assistants and other staff that work in schools are really key right now because they are providing support to students and teachers, and ultimately parents, with the delivery of education,” Schilling said. “We have a bunch of kids out there who don’t have access to technology and so assistants and other school staff are providing support with those students.

“We’re not even sure what teaching will look like a week from now or a month from now.”

In a news release, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said the cuts are meant to be temporary, with funding restored when students return to in-person classes.

The news comes about two weeks after the minister said school authorities will receive their full allotment of funding for the 2019-20 school year.

LaGrange’s press secretary, Colin Aitchison, said approximately $128 million will be temporarily redirected from school authority funding to the province’s COVID-19 response. Any impact on staffing will be decided by school boards, he said.

The ATA estimated around 6,000 substitute teachers and as many as 20,000 support staff will be affected by the cuts province-wide.

Schilling said that staff who are laid off will not lose their jobs immediately and will likely work through some of April due to contractual obligations.

But he said laying off staff in the middle of a pandemic puts undue stress on Alberta workers.

“To undermine a support system that’s there for students and teachers is short-sighted,” Schilling said.

“(The province) had an opportunity here to show some real leadership in a crisis, to make sure that students have a real continuity of education, that the people working in the education system had continuity in their employment, but they didn’t do that.”

Schilling added it is vital the government sticks to its word and returns funding when in-person classes resume.

Szumlas said the CCSD plans to bring back any support staff laid off due to the funding cuts after the COVID-19 pandemic finishes and funding is reinstated.