BSD trustees pass $146.2M budget

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This article was published 12/03/2025 (190 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon School Division board of trustees approved the 2025-26 budget Monday evening, earmarking almost $146.2 million as total expenses for the next academic year.

The $146,199,653 budget reflects a substantial growth of $8,086,887 in expenses, representing a 5.9 per cent increase from last year’s $138,112,766 budget.

During the board’s general meeting, trustee Kirk Carr moved the motion to approve the final budget, which includes $140,489,465 in operating expenses and $5,710,188 in capital expenses.

The special levy required for 2025-26 is $59,999,509, with $54,894,623 to be raised from municipalities.

The budget includes a 6.78 per cent property tax increase, which the board agreed on last month. For the owner of an average single-family residential home with an assessed value of $301,300, the increase will mean an additional $121.29 in taxes, according to BSD administration.

Board chair Linda Ross described the budget as “the best” the board could do given the financial situation it found itself in, adding while the board was not pleased to increase class sizes, it was necessary due to budgetary constraints.

“We’re never happy to increase class sizes,” Ross told the Sun. “But given that some 86 per cent of our budget goes to salary costs, when we had to try to find a $7-million shortfall, it was inevitable that we would have to find at least some of that money in salary costs.”

She explained the division still maintains one of the lowest class sizes in the province and that no changes were made to class sizes for kindergarten to Grade 3. “That’s where we know it’s most important to keep smaller class sizes,” she said.

For Grades 4 to 8, there will be a small increase in class sizes, rising from an average of 21.8 students to 22.5 students per class. For Grades 9 to 12, the average class size will increase by 2.9 students, bringing the average to 23.4 students per class.

“It’s not ideal, certainly, but we must have a balanced budget,” she said.

She also attributed the increase to contractual obligations and salary increases from collective bargaining agreements.

“The reason for that primarily is due to contract negotiations and I think that those were fair, the salary increases were fair, but it did mean that we had to meet those costs,” she added.

The division said its enrolment continues to grow, rising at a faster rate than before 2020. In 2024-25, student numbers increased by 311 (3.2 per cent), and for 2025-26, enrolment is projected to reach 10,212, an increase of 209 (2.1 per cent).

The budget includes a net increase of 11.14 full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching positions, accounting for enrolment growth and reductions in non-ratio teaching roles. Support staff will see a net increase of 21.09 FTE, largely due to additional funding for special needs students.

The budget also includes a 1.5 per cent inflationary increase for supplies, while school bus replacements will come from capital reserves.

All the trustees voted in favour of the budget on Monday evening, describing the process as a difficult financial decision.

While the board did its best under the circumstances, the funding model must be reviewed, vice-chair Duncan Ross said.

“Nobody at this table was happy about the situation we were in going into budget deliberations, given our increase in costs and the amount of funding that we were receiving,” he said. “Should we be happy about it? No, but I think that we did a damn good job threading the needle with our priorities.”

He explained the division received more than $6 million in additional funding last year, whereas this year, the province provided only $3.3 million, of which $500,000 was earmarked for specific initiatives.

“We only got $2.7 million to be able to use to address a 10 per cent increase in our budget, which placed us in a very tough position,” he said in an interview.

Trustee Breeanna Sieklicki said balancing rising costs with limited provincial support was a significant challenge.

“Salaries and our student population went up a lot, and the province didn’t even cover half of that. We couldn’t put everything on the taxpayers, making it a nine per cent tax increase,” she said.

She also called for a more sustainable and predictable funding model, thanking the Brandon Teachers’ Association and the Brandon Chamber of Commerce for their commitment to advocating alongside the board during the public budget deliberations.

Trustee Jim Murray was dissatisfied with the necessity of reducing the number of new teaching positions from the draft budget, as well as property tax increases, but commended the board’s efforts.

“I don’t like that we lost teachers, and I don’t like that there will be cuts made in other areas. But I think there was a balance struck,” he said.

Trustees Blaine Foley and Kirk Carr joined in commending senior administration for their work in compiling budget details on a tight timeline. Carr also criticized the provincial government’s funding approach, warning of potential future cuts if the model remains unchanged.

“I’m incredibly proud to sit at this table and stand behind the work we’ve done on this budget. It was really hard, but I think our provincial government must take a serious look at the funding model. Without meaningful changes, I fear what we may have to adjust or cut next year,” Carr said.

Trustee Callistus Ekenna voiced concern over services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, highlighting the lack of a licensed ASL interpreter in the division.

“Deafness is a sensory difference. It only becomes a disability when the educational system fails the child and family,” he said, urging senior administration to address the issue in future budgets.

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