Mr. Couillard,

In the Montreal Gazette on August 28th you are quoted as saying “each time I see people protesting, I think about people not protesting. For one person protesting, there are probably hundreds of people not protesting.

There may not have been many protestors in St-Georges-de-Beauce but those protestors represent tens of thousands of people who support quality education for the Quebec youth.

We DO protest!

• Dramatic reduction in support and services to students with special needs.
• The increase in student teacher ratio.
• Removal of codes that identify students with special needs in the classroom.
• Increased work loads for teachers, staff and administration.
• Adjusting previously agreed upon pension plans.

What does this mean?

• Students with special needs will have even less support.
• Major increases in the number of students in classrooms, adding an average of 2-5 more students, possibly more...
• Research supports small class sizes for at risk students. They will be affected.
• Teachers already struggle to manage in inclusive environments - it will only get harder.
• Less jobs for young teachers.

Don't give up on public education.