The Government of Saskatchewan released their budget earlier this week with a slight surplus, creating some tension between the province and the Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation.

In a release from the Saskatchewan Teacher's Federation, they said they received aced a 1.4 per cent increase in funding to the provinces 27 school divisions. The Government of Saskatchewan said that the budget allocated an extra $19 million towards education.

Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation President Patrick Maze said that "It's a start, but there's much more work to be done."

The increase puts the provincial education budget at around the same level that it was in around 2017, before a $54 million cut. He said that the increase was 'barely sufficient' accounting for enrollment and inflation changes since that year.

He also made comments that students with special needs such as education for non-English speakers, or mental health issues such as anxiety, are also creating increased funding needs.

One positive that Maze mentioned about the budget, was that the province was at least taking notice of their lack of support in classrooms. He said that federations' relationship with Minister of Education Gordon Wyant is improving, as he believed that Wyant accurately represented their needs.

"Minister Wyant has been listening, and he has met with our executive of the Saskatchewan Teacher's Federation, and seems to be going back to his government and letting them know what the concerns are."

Maze spoke on one aspect that needed improvement.

"That's not even touching the fact that First Nations and Metis learning achievement is far bellow non-First Nations and Metis students. If we want to close that gap, again, that's going to require a substantial investment.

"You can't get the benefit's of the investment from just trying to keep up in the budget, and so while this budget does keep up, we want the best for our students across the province, and so that's what we're calling on government [to do]. Substantially increase investment in our students and our youth, and properly support our classrooms."

Maze said that teachers in Saskatchewan have spent a lot of time coping with restraint.