Manitoba announces minimum 2.5% increase in school division operating funds

School divisions across Manitoba will get an increase of at least 2.5 per cent in operating dollars for the upcoming year, the province says.

The government has pledged $100.2 million in new funding for kindergarten to Grade 12 schools, or a 6.1 per cent increase over the previous year, Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko said at a news conference Thursday.

While all divisions will get at minimum a 2.5 per cent increase, some will get more, officials said at a briefing earlier Thursday. This year, theprovince also looked at things like per pupil funding levels and socioeconomic factors such as income levels and how many kids are in care to determine funding.

"Our government believes that all students must succeed regardless of where they live in this great province of ours, their background or their individual circumstance," Ewasko said.

The money includes a $62.9-million increasein operating support, $8 million more in capital support payments, a $24-million increase to the property tax grant offset and an extra $5 million for independent schools, he said.

It also includes $5 million in extra funding for students who have specific learning needs and how that cash is used will vary from school to school, saidDana Rudy, deputy minister for education.

"There's a variety of different supports. It could be human resource supports, it could be different equipment costs or needs, for example," Rudy said at the news conference.

The province also announced$20 million for other cost pressures, like inflation, in response to feedback from school divisions, officials said.

Inflation pressure

Ewasko said while many prices have increased, transportation has been one of the biggest rising costs divisions face. For schools in northern Manitoba, heating costs are another problem, he said.

Looking ahead, the province expects inflationary pressures to be about 3.8 per cent in 2023 and 2.2 in 2024, Ewasko said.

Statistics Canada says inflation in Manitoba was 7.9 per cent in 2022.

The government is also makingone-time funding given to school divisions last year permanent, at a cost of $106 million. That includes $22 million to support student presence and engagement.

Making that funding permanent will also help divisions deal with financial pressures, strengthen student learning and supports and provide more support for students with specific learning needs, the government said.

The province also announced a change to the formula to determine the money school divisions are guaranteed. Instead of a 98 per cent funding guarantee, divisions will now get at least 100 per cent of what they got the previous year.

In total, $1.745 billion will be allocated to education for the upcoming year, with $1.651 billion in annual funding going to public schools. A total of $94 million in annual funding will go to independent schools.

That money doesn't include revenue from education property taxes collected locally or capital funding.

'This is a cut'

Opposition NDP education critic Nello Altomare criticized the funding announcement.

"Make no mistake, this is a cut to school funding from the government that brought you Bill 64 and told teachers to pay out of pocket for school supplies," Altomare said in an emailed statement.

The announcement comes as Manitoba continues to work on completely changing its education funding model, with one-to-one consultations planned with each school divisionafter the province releases its budget.

"Being a teacher myself prior to 2011, [I know] for years the education partners have screamed and shouted in regards to the unfairness and inequitable funding that was being done by that education funding model," Ewasko said.

Teachers 'finally' heard: union

James Bedford, president of the Manitoba Teachers' Society, said the announcement is "an acknowledgement that teachers in this province have finally been listened to by this government."

But it also doesn't make up for low funding levels over the last few years, Bedford said.

"We've had six years of funding that has neither kept up with inflation nor growth of students within the system," he said.

Bedford said he was glad to see inflation pressures addressed, funding for students with specific needs improved and one-time funding from last year extended. But he said more could have been done to address a shortage of substitute teachers and some of the socioeconomic conditions that affect learning outcomes like funding a universal meal program in every school.

He said it also remains to be seen what that funding will look like the following year when Manitoba's education funding model is expected to be overhauled, and when it's not a year with a provincial election coming up.

Manitoba's election is scheduled for Oct. 3.

Manitoba to get increase in school division operating funds

2 years ago

Duration 2:09

The province will pump more money into K to 12 education next school year. School divisions across the province can expect to see at least a 2.5 % increase in their operating dollars for the upcoming year and there will be money ear marked to help struggling students.