Chignecto-Central Regional School Board member Ron Marks said close to 300 positions could be lost because of a 22 per cent budget cut. Chignecto-Central Regional School Board member Ron Marks said close to 300 positions could be lost because of a 22 per cent budget cut. (CBC)

The Chignecto-Central Regional School Board will decide Thursday night how a $34-million budget cut will affect its schools.

The provincial government has asked all school boards in the province to reduce their budget by 22 per cent over three years.

For the Chignecto-Central board, which serves central and northern Nova Scotia, that will mean fewer teachers' aides, larger classes, cuts in programs and, likely, school closures.

Board member Ron Marks wouldn't confirm that 300 positions will be cut but said the number is likely in the right ballpark.

"It's devastating for children," Marks said. "Most boards are trying to protect the classroom, so it's not teaching positions. It's educational assistants, teaching aides; it's janitors, bus drivers, administration staff."

Susan Tilsley Manley, who volunteers teaching art at Scotsburn Elementary, is already filling a void left by earlier cuts. The school only has part-time gym and music teachers.

"Obviously, the biggest fear is school closures and down from that, is the quality of what they're being offered in the school, just going down and down and down," said Tilsley Manley. "If all you're thinking about is balancing the budget, you're not thinking about what's best for the children."

She said it's time for government to start considering schools as an investment.

"I get that it's an incredibly hard place to be when you're trying to balance the budget in hard economic times," said Tilsley Manley. " But sometimes, it's worth going in debt … if what you're investing in [is] a broader vision of a long-term future."

Ron Marks said it is time for parents to act and try to convince government to stop any cuts before they happen.

"We have to do it right now; we can't get it wrong," said Marks. "If we get it wrong, then we've failed these children, and by looking at 22 per cent, we might be failing a whole generation of children."