A Ministry of Education plan to "reduce overhead costs, look for efficiencies and find savings through collaboration and shared services" has the Kamloops-Thompson Teachers' Association worried.

According to an Aug. 27 letter from Minister George Abbott to school superintendents, the Ministry of Education engaged the professional services firm Deloitte to support a "service delivery transformation project."

Kamloops-Thompson secretary treasurer Kelvin Stretch told the board Monday night that staff has been working with other districts on the resulting "opportunities to be explored," which is presented as merely Tier 1 and includes 14 suggestions - most notably around centralization of services.

KTTA president Jason Karpuk said he fears the initiative will lead to exporting services, which would mean job loss and difficulty connecting with staffers who know what's happening in the district they serve.

"I think it's something that has a potential savings but what's the cost? Is the benefit worth the savings?" he said.

He's not the only one with questions. School board vice-chairperson Kathleen Karpuk asked Stretch whether the cost savings opportunities would impact current employees.

Stretch assured her that Tier 1 deals primarily with purchase of products and services so would not affect jobs.

There was no mention of what tier 2 would suggest or when it could be rolled out.