Manitoba pledges additional funding for schools, freezes education property taxes for 2nd year

Manitoba is contributing an extra $120 million to fund its school system, all while freezing education property taxes for the second consecutive year.

However, it's unclear whether the infusion of provincial funding will be enough to address a soaring inflation rate. 

The province unveiled its funding commitments for the kindergarten to Grade 12 school system in 2022-23 at a virtual news conference on Friday.

The largest proportion of that funding — $77 million — is a one-time allotment to assist public schools with their financial constraints, specifically the recent wage settlements with teachers and other staff.  

That's in addition to the $80 million promised to address these cost pressures for the existing 2021-22 academic year, Education Minister Wayne Ewasko told the virtual news conference on Friday.

"School divisions have told us that COVID-19, inflation and other costs have increased their financial pressures and burdens. This has been taken into consideration for this year's public school funding announcement," he said.

As well, Manitoba is pledging an additional $18 million, the equivalent of a 1.34 per cent increase, to cover operating and capital costs at public schools, along with $2.2 million to support independent schools. 

Offsetting lost tax revenue

The province will give out $23.2 million to offset the revenue its 37 school divisions would have absorbed if education property taxes could increase by two per cent. The province is freezing the tax rate, which it plans to eventually phase out, for the second straight year. 

Manitoba Schools Boards Association president Alan Campbell says he's encouraged by aspects of the province's announcement. 

In the past, "government didn't seem to be listening," he said. "Today's announcement reflects some listening on the part of government."

It seems the Progressive Conservative government is recognizing its funding was inadequate, Campbell says, but he argues the province has itself to blame. The Tories were long pushing for wage freezes until an arbitration hearing with one school division demanded the sudden payout of years of wage increases.

Cash-strapped school divisions need about $120 million to pay for these settlements, Campbell says, calling it a conservative estimate.

"We know that we have a listening ear with new minister Ewasko, and we intend to fully capitalize on that to try to make sure that everyone who needs to understand the gravity of the situation in government understands it," Campbell said.

He says the province wants to be notified if any school division is forced to consider staffing or programming cuts because it is running out of money, which Campbell says is an acknowledgement the province wants to prevent such scenarios.

NDP education critic Nello Altomare accused the government of "starving education and refusing to keep up funding with the rising cost of living" in a statement.

The new provincial funding is a 2.9 per cent increase over the existing school year. It does not keep up with the inflation rate, which Statistics Canada reports was 4.7 per cent last December, but the province says education funding went up 11.4 per cent last year through annual increases as well as one-time grants to help with staffing and pandemic costs.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont says the new funding doesn't tackle the province's failures on poverty and mental health. 

"How can it be that the PCs can claim that Manitoba has some of the highest education spending in Canada while they also complain about some of the worst outcomes?" Lamont asked in a statement, alluding to standardized test scores that place Manitoba near the bottom in the country.

"We need to address the 20 per cent of students who are struggling. The PCs have never done that, and likely never will."

For the second year, Manitoba did not reduce funding for school divisions with slumping enrolment since some students have been home-schooled through the pandemic. The province reported a public school enrolment of 184,258 last fall, a decrease from more than 190,000 students in 2019.

The government is still planning to develop a new education funding model for the 2022-23 school year, Ewasko said.

Trustees here to stay: Ewasko

Also Friday, the new education minister offered perhaps the government's strongest endorsement of school trustees since the government scrapped its controversial reforms that would have eliminated the elected positions.

After scrapping Bill 64, the Progressive Conservatives under new Premier Heather Stefanson say her government would reform the school system in some unspecified way. The original plans would have also centralized decision-making and relied on volunteer parents and guardians to offer a local voice.

On Friday, Ewasko said the province heard the feedback "loud and clear."

"Trustees are here to remain and that's the way we're proceeding," he said.