'No ifs, no buts, no education cuts': Students protest education changes

High school students marched to Kitchener city hall on Thursday, as part of a provincewide walkout to protest education changes in Ontario.

In March, the Ford government announced sweeping changes affecting elementary and high schools, including increased class sizes, more e-learning and a new math curriculum.

Students from KitchenerWaterloo Collegiate and Vocational School, commonly called Kitchener Collegiate Institute (KCI)gathered on the front steps of their school before walking down King Street West to city hall.

The students waved signs and chanted phrases including,"No ifs, no buts, no education cuts," and "Give us our education back, schools are under attack."

Student organizer Alex Charette estimated there were at least 300 students from KCIin attendance. They were later joined at city hall by students from 13 other schools within the Waterloo Region District School board.

Wendy Price, a trustee with the Waterloo Catholic District School Board alsoraised concerns about the changes, in a post thatwas widely shared on social media.

"If the changes...to education do happen, it will be YEARS before our education system recovers," Price wrote in the post.