NSTU to Present 20,0000 Signatures on Kidsnotcuts Petition

HALIFAX, April 26, 2012 /CNW/ - More than 20,000 members of the public are joining the Nova Scotia Teachers Union in saying education cuts have to stop.

"Nova Scotians are standing up for our students, our teachers and the future of our province," says Alexis Allen, NSTU president. "They are demanding that the NDP government fully restore education funding and stop the senseless cuts."

The petition protests the $65-million cut to the education budget. Nova Scotia currently has the second lowest per pupil funding in Canada.

In addition to the number of teaching positions cut last year because of declining enrollment (128) an additional 205 teaching positions were lost within the province. This year roughly one-third of the teaching positions expected to be lost will be because of declining enrollment, while the rest are due to the cuts imposed by this government.

"This petition shows the public is saying enough is enough," says Allen. "And it's time the government listens."

Allen will present the petition at a news conference tomorrow at the legislature, along with 45 front-line teachers and other supporters. They will stay and attend the gallery for question period.

NSTU has been working with the Nova Scotia Federation of Home and School Associations and Fédération des parents acadiens de la Nouvelle-Écosse asking for signatures since June 2011. The petition is part of the NSTU's Cut to the Core campaign.

WHAT: NSTU presentation of kidsnotcuts petition

WHEN: Thursday April 26, 2012 at 11:30 a.m.

WHERE: Province House, 1726 Hollis Street, Halifax

Mary Jane Webber, NSTU Public Relations Coordinator
Telephone: [phone], Cell: 902-497-0194, Email: [email protected]