The Prince Albert Catholic School Division is preparing to enter into a new agreement around funding for Jordan’s Principle.
During the board of education’s regular meeting on Aug. 18, director of education Lorel Trumier and CFO Greg McEwen updated the board on a new agreement that was to be signed with Indigenous Services Canada.
“We do have a funding agreement and obviously their fiscal year ends March and that’s probably why there hasn’t been much attention to it,” Trumier explained.
The previous funding agreement expired on March 31. The division has received a new draft funding agreement that administration recommends signing off on.
“What we’ve been waiting for is a response on their commitment for April to June for our staff. We had committed to hiring them for the entire year, so we completed that.”
The draft funding agreement includes funding for Jordan’s Principle and provincial school tuition. The Jordan’s Principle funding will be disbursed after signing.
Administration has also taken steps to request ISC approval for use of unexpected funds, approximately $273,000 for Jordan’s Principle in the 2025-2026 school year.
“The renewal of a service agreement puts us in a good place to do that and it will actually mean some dollars for this coming school year that we’ll be able to support that kind of work,” Trumier said.
“Different allocations will be provided and different criteria and circumstances and we’re just getting to that information at this point. I don’t really have much more on that but it is very positive,” she added.
The funding will have to be re-applied for each year as needs change.
Jordan’s Principle funding for 2024-2025 was used to hire 38 Educational Assistants.
Jordan’s Principle is a federally funded for First Nations children up to age 18 who live on reserves or in urban centres. The aim of the program is to ensure that there are no gaps in services for Indigenous children. Groups or individuals can make applications for supports including mental health and special education, among others.
Jordan’s Principle helps ensure all First Nations children living in Canada can access the products, services, and supports they need, when they need them.
All applications are made collaboratively with families and must be approved by a parent or guardian. When signed the new agreement will be from 2025-2030 with Indigenous Services Canada. The board approved execution of the funding agreement, which would run from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2030.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
