Hidden Valley School Council is very concerned about the recent staffing allocations and changes made to HVES.

For the 2025/26 school year, HVES saw a decrease in allocated FTEs (Full-Time Equivalents) for both teachers and Educational Assistants. The Department of Education also moved HVES’s extremely successful Porcupine Room program (the neurodivergent classroom) to another school—without warning. This program transfer additionally resulted in the loss of an FTE and a staff member from our school on the last day of school.

The transfer of the neurodivergent classroom means this programming is no longer available to the students who typically accessed it. In addition, HVES experienced a reduction of 4.8 EA positions allocated for the 2025/26 school year, resulting in fewer supports in classrooms for students.

Please see below for more information and the various avenues explored by School Council in an effort to secure adequate staffing levels and the supports our students need.

Following all correspondence, School Council reached out to the superintendent, requesting that—at the very least—the school community, and specifically the families directly affected, be informed of these changes before the school year began so they could prepare. The response we received was that she would not address the issue or contact parents until the school year started.