BTA urges trustees to protect added spots

The Brandon Teachers’ Association (BTA) has tasked the Brandon School Division (BSD) to protect a proposed increase in teaching positions as trustees move to finalize the 2026-27 budget next week.

Adding more teachers in the preliminary proposal is “welcome news,” BTA president Sandra Thompson told the Sun.

“Five more teachers is wonderful news considering the high student enrolment in the last few years,” Thompson told the Sun. “However, the 5.4 increase in full-time equivalent (FTE) teaching staff is not guaranteed until the budget is finalized.”

Speaking during Monday evening’s public budget deliberations, Thompson made a plea to BSD’s board of trustees to keep “the proposed teacher increase as they work to finalize the budget.”

Thompson told trustees she left earlier budget discussions feeling “cautiously optimistic,” though that optimism waned as deliberations progressed.

The board of trustees recommended a 7.25 per cent education property tax increase as part of its 2026-27 preliminary budget last week.

The board’s recommendation followed deliberations at a special meeting, where trustees reviewed a draft financial plan projecting revenues of $145,574,382 and expenses of $148,004,090, resulting in a potential shortfall of $2,429,708 before senior administration requests were included. The proposed property tax increase would cover the total shortfall.

Proposals related to classroom supports were scaled back during the budget deliberation. While 15 teaching positions, which the division cut as part of its cost-saving measures last year, were originally proposed for reinstatement for $1.575 million, trustees instead approved five positions totalling $525,250.

Thompson reminded the board that a request for 15 FTE teachers last year to address enrolment growth had been denied.

“Enrolment growth did not stop when those teachers weren’t hired,” she said. “Enrolment continues to increase, and each year that it is not staffed accordingly compounds the issue.”

She also pointed to upcoming curriculum and assessment changes set to roll out in the fall, which will require additional staffing and training support.

“My question to you all is, does this budget address classroom complexity? And the answer is no,” Thompson told trustees. “As you sharpen your pencils and get your red pens out to finalize this budget, I humbly plead on behalf of all Brandon teachers that if you are unable to increase FTE teacher allotments, you will at least protect the 5.4 FTE teachers proposed in this preliminary budget.”

Thompson said she recognizes the challenges trustees face in balancing the budget amid what she described as “historic chronic underfunding” and increasingly complex classrooms.

“The trustees and senior administration work hard to balance the budget in light of historic chronic underfunding and classrooms that are more and more complex,” she said. “Teachers and students working in classrooms every day are the ones who feel the effects of every financial decision.”

Thompson declined to comment on potential property tax impacts, noting that taxation is the only remaining mechanism for school divisions to address funding shortfalls.

Also addressing trustees on Monday was Jamie Rose, president of CUPE Local 737, which represents support staff in the division.

Ross thanked the board and senior administration for what he described as a proactive approach to addressing funding gaps. He acknowledged the province’s recognition of the need for increased education funding.

He said raising the education tax levy is an essential measure to maintain operations and ensure students receive the necessary supports.

“Additional educational assistants, increased support for front-line administrative assistants and more hours for school-based library technicians would further strengthen classrooms and improve student outcomes,” he said.

Trustees are expected to adopt the budget on March 9 before submitting its special levy to municipalities by March 15, with the final 2026-27 budget due to the province by March 31.

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