Pay raise leaves school divisions feeling the pinch

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This article was published 01/03/2025 (202 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

School divisions across Westman are feeling the same tension in their budgets as the Brandon School Division this week as they troubleshoot ways to pay for increasingly expensive staff.

The Province of Manitoba signed a contract last year that created a three per cent pay raise to all teachers in anglophone schools this September. The province increased funding to school divisions to support it, but the support leaves some spending in the hands of local school divisions.

In the case of Brandon, part of the solution was to introduce a 6.78 per cent property tax increase.

After the BSD approved its budget this week, the Sun reached out to school divisions in Westman to learn if they also struggled to balance rising staff costs. Spokespersons from Beautiful Plains, Turtle Mountain, Fort La Bosse and Rolling River confirmed the divisions are also working to make space for rising staff costs in their upcoming budgets.

When asked about funding, the spokespersons told the Sun that they are happy the province increased funding this year. However, the school divisions commented that funding from the province did not completely offset costs they absorbed this year due to the collective agreement the province ratified.

The spokespersons from Beautiful Plains, Turtle Mountain and Rolling River did not respond to a followup email asking if their division planned to raise taxes as a solution.

In the case of Beautiful Plains School Division, secretary-treasurer Shannon Bayes told the Sun that $1.6 million is the cost of increased salaries and benefits come September. The province will provide more money to the division, but not enough to completely cover the bill, she said.

Rolling River School Division is also in the same position, Supt. Jason Cline told the Sun. The division’s cost increase was 82 per cent driven by staffing and benefits, and the division received increased funding, but not enough to cover the jump.

Fort La Bosse Supt. Barry Pitz also confirmed the main driver of the upcoming budget is covering the new collective agreement. He said a tax increase of somewhere under six per cent is expected to balance the increase as well as costs of inflation.

Pitz emphasized in an interview with the Sun, however, that the division is satisfied with the support from the province. He said the province has always been a good partner with Fort La Bosse and the division will focus on putting in its side of the work now to balance the budget.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com