The focus of the Forum of Ideas for Quebec conference was the future of education on Sunday , but teachers’ unions say it’s the present that should be discussed.

Unions say government proposals to increase student to teacher ratios in classrooms and funding cuts for special needs programs are stalling negotiations for a new collective agreement.

“It's the first time I’ve seen so many people claim that well public schools are not doing so well and the cuts are hurting. They're hurting students and the [students] that need the most [help],” said union spokesperson Caroline Senneville.

At the conference, Premier Philippe Couillard and others discussed how to improve education in the province, but class size and special needs programs were left off the agenda.

“Everybody knows that for socioeconomically deprived environments and handicapped children or children with specific difficulties, the ratios are critically important. But it's not always the case. It’s not in all environments in all situations that it's the same. What we need is much more flexibility in order to tailor this to the actual needs of children in different environments,” Couillard said.

Couillard says since 2004 spending on education has increased by 64 per cent, and the government is in the process of re-organizing how school boards, teachers and community groups will deliver services.

Teachers’ unions say that they weren't invited to the forum and are concerned about a lack of representation when it comes to discussing the future of education in Quebec, but forum organizers say that the event is supposed to be non-partisan and is open to anyone.

“Everybody was welcome. There were people from the unions, there were people from school boards here, but they were here as citizens, we certainly didn't invite anybody to speak to us as representatives of an interest group,” said the forum’s co-founder Jean-Francois Garneau.

But with strike action in Quebec’s schools looming, Senneville said the topic of conversation doesn't match up with the reality.

“We're going to discuss the future, but right now the present is not going so well, “she said.