It has been a hot topic for debate in the past few weeks. The return to school has raised concerns from both parents who do not want to put their children at risk and teachers who feel they don't have the proper equipment and funding to teach in the middle of a pandemic. Parents are concerned with the potential exposure to COVID-19, which could be brought from school back home where there may be immunocompromised residents. 

"The biggest concerns seem to be the double standard. The rest of the public is expected to wear masks depending on the situation. If you go to get a haircut, you have to wear a mask and the person cutting your hair has to wear a mask," said Patrick Maze, the president of the Teachers Federation. "Yet when we go into a school, all of that is lost. You don't have to wear any personal protective equipment and you don't have to worry about social distancing. And this has lots of teachers upset."

Maze says the chronic underfunding from the provincial government plays a large factor in the lack of confidence for a return to school. He says there are options to help ensure a safe return to school, however, all of these options have a price tag that the schools just cannot afford. Purchasing masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer for thousands of students come with a hefty bill, one that the already underfunded schools just cannot foot, according to Maze. 

Another concern is simply for the safety of the students who will be returning to classes. Maze says that students will not obey social distancing rules, as anyone who has either taught or raised children would know all too well. 

"It's easy for people sitting in an office to make decisions about what goes on in that school. They are saying 'oh they just need to wash their hands'," Maze expressed. "We have many schools across the province that, due to the chronic underfunding of education, don't have bathroom facilities for the number of students in the school they're attending."

Maze feels that the provincial government has pushed a majority of the responsibility down onto the school divisions, claiming it's irresponsible to push these responsibilities down onto divisions who do not have the funding to carry out the plans required to create a safe environment to teach.  

However, there has been mention of funding being given to the provincial government through the federal government to help through the pandemic. Maze hopes the provincial government makes the right decision to allocate a large portion of these funds to the school divisions.

"At this point, the government will be hugely liable should staff members and students get sick," Maze added. "This can be pointed back to the provincial government not taking this seriously and not providing school divisions with funding to have personal protection equipment."

Premier Scott Moe says the provincial government is working on the proper guidelines for a safe return to school, however many teachers worry it will not be enough.

"We're rule followers, we'll listen to what the chief medical health officer says, but when we hear them say one thing for the regular public, but then say it doesn't matter in schools? That's just unacceptable."