Public Schools of Saskatchewan intends to seek leave to appeal the Theodore School case to the Supreme Court on behalf of the Good Spirit School Division. The case arose in the spring of 2017, when a judge ruled that it is a violation of equality rights for the province to fund non-Catholics attending Catholic Schools. Then in March, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the appeal of the case in a unanimous decision. The government’s stance was that if the ruling was implemented, it would lead to heavily overpopulated public schools and empty out the Catholic schools. Colleen MacPherson, chair of the Public Schools of Saskatchewan says, “We have pursued every avenue possible, including mediation with government and the organization representing catholic school boards, to clarify the mandate of separate schools in this province.” She says, now, with two very different decisions, the Supreme Court must be the final arbiter.
The issue started back in 2003 when the public school closed in Theodore, which is about 40 kilometres northwest of Yorkton.
The Good Spirit School Division had planned to bus approximately 42 students to the neighbouring town of Springdale. However, a group formed their own Catholic school division and opened the St. Theodore Roman Catholic School for the students to attend.