At first, the opposition saw the story of district education budget cuts in New Brunswick as the story of a weak cabinet minister.
On May 13, Progressive Conservative MLA Bill Hogan — a former education minister — blamed his Liberal successor, Claire Johnson, for the bad news trickling out of the province’s seven school districts.
“At what point will the premier realize that she has a minister struggling?” Hogan asked.
“At what point does the premier look inward and ask herself if she made a mistake or two in the selection of her cabinet?”
Over time, as the Holt government struggled to find a coherent narrative for its decisions on the district budgets, the PC criticism has evolved.
Now it’s about the government as a whole.
“The Art of the Deal, Premier Holt-style, goes like this,” PC MLA Rob Weir said this week, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s impetuous style of decision-making.
“Step one: cut funding. Step two: wait for funding cuts to cause chaos, upset and job loss. Step three: then, and only then, start talking about negotiations.”
Minister now says it was her plan all along to negotiate — and districts weren’t used to it.
The Liberals are now in retreat over their education budget, which they increased by $200 million overall, but which — thanks to the earmarking of most of the money — forced the districts to reduce spending in some areas by a total of $43 million.
One district cut library workers. Another said it would have to eliminate 25 support positions for students with behavioural issues, shifting those teachers into classrooms to comply with the government’s directive to concentrate resources in classrooms.
Last week, Johnson said forcing district education councils to rethink their budgets was “a good exercise,” but the government had gone “a little bit too fast or too far” because it was so impatient for improvements.
Holt later told Brunswick News the problem stemmed from the districts being so unused to consultation and collaboration that they didn’t realize the Liberals wanted to negotiate with them all along.
Johnson adopted that message in the last week, saying the government and the districts “have to relearn how to work together” after six years of Progressive Conservative government.
“We almost have to deal with a trauma response as we fix a relationship that has been broken,” the minister said.
No mention of an offer to negotiate
The districts could be forgiven, however, for presuming that what they were told weeks ago was the last word.
Johnson herself said on May 8 that shifting resources to classrooms was vital, and “we all agree on this. We’re making it happen.”
She made no mention of an offer to negotiate.
Letters sent to francophone school districts on April 29 laid out their budget allocations for 2025-26 and reminded them they had until July 1 to submit their spending plans — with no deficits allowed.
“You will note that your budget includes a significant reduction,” said the letter, written in French.
“In addition to your spending plan, please provide us with the details of the reductions you need to make this adjustment.”
The letter included an offer to meet with the districts “so we can better understand potential issues and communicate your budget realities to central government” — but only in the fall, after the cuts would already be in effect.
Johnson wouldn’t comment on the older April 29 letters this week, saying she wanted to focus on “the evolution, the correction” to the government’s way of communicating.
“It evolved as it needed to. We thought we were being clear. Maybe it wasn’t as clear as it could have been.”
She produced new letters on Tuesday that ask districts to submit plans to “mitigate choices that could impact the classroom and the supports our students rely on most.”
The letter continues: “We will consider adjusting funding in relation to the proposals you submit.”
And it goes on to specify that the department wants to know “which staffing and funding choices you may have made that would impact the items above.”
Not clear what cuts may be reversed
Johnson told reporters the process could lead to the province restoring some of the $43 million, but not all of it.
“We want to be convinced that it’s absolutely necessary,” she said. “We will land somewhere in the middle. It won’t be $43 million.”
The districts say they are going through the process, but it’s not clear what cuts may be reversed.
“At this stage, it’s too early to speak to the number of positions that may be impacted,” said Paul MacIntosh, a spokesperson for the Anglophone West district.
Ghislaine Foulem, the chair of the Francophone Northeast district agreed the initial April 29 letters didn’t seem to leave any room for negotiations.
“There was maybe a lack of understanding, or a misinterpretation of intentions” between the two sides, she said.
“Now I think we’ve heard an openness to reconsider those cuts.”
It’s ‘the entire government,’ PC leader says
PC Opposition Leader Glen Savoie said it wasn’t credible for the government to claim now that its spring budget decisions were merely an invitation to negotiation.
“If that’s the case, the $600 million deficit that they’ve put us in — we’d like to go back in that house and negotiate that down so we have a balanced budget,” he said.
And, he said, the issue is no longer just Claire Johnson.
“It’s this entire government and their approach to governing. At every turn, they make a decision, it blows up in their face, and then they try to evade responsibility for that decision,” he said.
“It’s not just the minister. It is the premier, right on down through the entire government.”
