Press release
Removal of caps on FTE positions and budget predictability in education

“Act before it’s too late!” urges the Coalition of Education Partners

Members of the Coalition of Education Partners are expressing concern about the lack of clarity surrounding the recently announced easing of full-time equivalent (FTE) targets, the accessibility of the partial $540 million reinvestment in the school network, which remains subject to numerous constraints, and consequently, the impact on student services.

The organizations within the Coalition are speaking with one voice today to call for the complete removal of the cap on FTE positions and for greater budget predictability across the education system. They made this case in a joint letter sent earlier this week to Minister Lebel.

“The minister’s announcement has raised expectations at a time when needs are pressing. We hope her intentions are backed by strong political will and that they go beyond mere media positioning and are not simply an election-driven gesture. Minister Lebel has acknowledged a bottleneck between the FTE cap and the use of the financial resources that were supposed to be made available. Yet to date, we can see the damage has already been done: student services are being affected on the ground. Time is passing, funds are lacking, and resources are not showing up. We are therefore calling for urgent action, not only for this school year, but also for those to come,” the Coalition members argue, emphasizing that crucial weeks have already been lost.

“Equal opportunity also means ensuring that all students, including those with special needs, receive the services to which they are entitled — and that the network has the means to deliver them.”

Budget predictability

On October 1, Education Minister Sonia Lebel announced her intention to relax the restrictions on exceeding full-time equivalent (FTE) targets previously imposed on the education network by her predecessor. However, the minister specified that this flexibility should not lead to budget overruns.

“We are unanimous in reiterating this: the education system needs predictable funding. Strategic planning is essential for a network employing hundreds of thousands of people who serve hundreds of thousands of students. Budget predictability is not an administrative luxury, it is a basic condition for ensuring the coherence, continuity, and quality of educational services, in order to promote student success and well-being. We ask a lot of our schools, but we do not give them the means to deliver.”

Cuts and reductions in education are unacceptable, and current investments remain insufficient to cover the real costs generated by the growing number of young people in our schools and centres, the needs of students with disabilities or adjustment and learning difficulties (HDAA), the deteriorating state of many buildings, and the operating expenses that continue to weigh heavily on the network’s funding and day-to-day functioning.

Education deserves better and investments must match the scale of the needs.

Members of the Coalition of Education Partners:

• Denis Bolduc, Fédération des travailleurs et des travailleuses du Québec (FTQ)
• Marie Deschênes, Union des employés et employées de service, section locale 800 (UES800-FTQ)
• Éric Gingras, Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ)
• Richard Bergevin, Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement (FSE-CSQ)
• Éric Pronovost, Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (FPSS-CSQ)
• Carolane Desmarais, Fédération du personnel professionnel de l’éducation du Québec (FPPE-CSQ)
• Patrick Gloutney, Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique (SCFP-Québec)
• Manon Cholette, Conseil national du soutien scolaire du Syndicat des employées et employés professionnels-les et de bureau du Québec (CNSS-SEPB)
• Katia Lelièvre, Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN)
• Frédéric Brun, Fédération des employées et employés de la Fédération des services publics (FEESP-CSN)
• Léandre Lapointe, Fédération nationale des enseignantes et enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ-CSN)
• Heidi Yetman, Association provinciale des enseignantes et enseignants du Québec (APEQ)
• Mélanie Hubert, Fédération autonome de l’enseignement (FAE)
• Francis Côté, Fédération québécoise des directions d’établissement d’enseignement (FQDE)
• André Bernier, Association québécoise du personnel de direction des écoles (AQPDE)
• Kathleen Legault, Association montréalaise des directions d’établissement scolaire (Amdes)
• David Meloche, Association des commissions scolaires anglophones du Québec (ACSAQ)
• Evelyne Alfonsi, Association des administrateurs des écoles anglophones du Québec (AAEAQ)
• Sylvain Martel, Regroupement des comités de parents autonomes du Québec (RCPAQ)
• Mélanie Laviolette, Fédération des comités de parents du Québec (FCPQ)
• Katherine Korakakis, Association des comités de parent anglophone du Québec (ACPA)
• Amélie Duranleau, Société québécoise de la déficience intellectuelle (SQDI)
• Bianca Nugent, Coalition de parents d’enfants à besoins particuliers du Québec (CPEBPQ)
• Lili Plourde, Fédération québécoise de l’autisme (FQA)
• Steven Laperriere, Regroupement des activistes pour l’inclusion au Québec (RAPLIQ)
• Jean Trudelle, Debout pour l’école
• Patricia Clermont, Je protège mon école publique (JPMEP)