Rural school boards approve property tax increases

School boards in the Mountain View and Beautiful Plains school divisions have approved substantial property tax hikes in their 2026-27 budgets.

Ratepayers in Mountain View will see school taxes go up by 7.24 per cent, while Beautiful Plains property owners will be hit with a 10.4 per cent increase.

Officials from both divisions said the increases were necessary to maintain core services and manage cost pressures such as salaries, inflation and operational expenses.

The Mountain View school board approved its 2026-27 budget during a general meeting on Monday.

The budget sets total expenditures at $56.2 million, an increase of $2.75 million (5.14 per cent) from last year. Provincial funding for the division rose by $671,522, or 1.72 per cent, including tax credits, secretary-treasurer Lori Slepicka told the Sun on Wednesday.

“Mountain View School Division actually got the smallest increase out of all school divisions,” Slepicka said. “There was also a harmonization allocation to school divisions … and MVSD didn’t get any of that.”

At the same time, the division’s supply costs, insurance and other expenses have continued to rise, Slepicka said.

“Based on an average home assessment of about $301,536, the increase translates to roughly $128 more per year for the typical property owner,” she said.

Despite financial pressures, she said, the division maintained all front-line staffing positions and allocated $2.55 million in additional spending for staffing. The division also set aside $358,000 for nutrition programming and increased non-salary spending by about $200,780, largely for software upgrades, insurance, bus replacement costs and supplies.

Slepicka said public participation in the budget process was limited. A fall budget survey drew 42 responses, while 12 people attended the division’s public budget forum in March.

“If nothing else changes, next year’s increase could look very similar,” she said. “The division’s early projections suggest another tax increase of around 7.28 per cent for 2027-28.”

The Beautiful Plains School Division also approved its 2026-27 budget during a special board meeting on Tuesday.

The division’s budget sets expenditures at $32.6 million, a 6.2 per cent increase over the current year, secretary-treasurer Shannon Bayes told the Sun.

“It’s a difficult process for the board,” Bayes said. “The funding gaps do make it a challenge, but we work with what we have.”

Provincial funding for the division will increase by $340,000 (1.9 per cent). That includes $140,000 in general funding for schools and $200,000 from a harmonization grant tied to the provincewide teachers’ salary scale.

The budget includes $1.92 million in additional spending, with about 78 per cent tied to salary costs. Salary increases stem from pay-scale increments, benefit costs and adjustments related to the provincial harmonization agreement.

The division approved a net staffing reduction of one full-time equivalent position to help manage the budget, Bayes said in an interview.

“The impact on classrooms is expected to be minimal,” she said. “We are at a point where we have class sizes that aren’t excessive, so I don’t think it will have a major impact.”

Enrolment in the division has grown steadily since 2011 and peaked around 2024. The division expects about 2,200 students next year, with enrolment projected to remain stable for the next two years, Bayes said.

Though not passed yet, the Park West School Division is proposing a 10.12 per cent increase in school taxes for the 2027 calendar year as part of its draft 2026-27 budget.

According to budget documents, the division is projecting $1,265,005 in additional revenue to balance an equivalent increase in expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year.

The division’s total operating support from the province will rise by 0.7 per cent, or $67,558. This is the second-lowest increase among Manitoba’s school divisions, according to the division’s website.

To help balance the budget, the division’s special requirement, the portion raised through local property taxes, will generate an additional $949,809.

The tax increase will be partially offset for homeowners by the $1,600 Manitoba Homeowners Affordability Tax Credit, as well as rebates available to farmland owners, the division said.

The budget largely maintains programs and services from the previous year, although it includes a slight reduction in school-based staffing due to enrolment changes. It projects a reduction equivalent to a 0.43 full-time teacher position across various schools due to changes in enrolment, resulting in savings of about $44,829.

The spending plan reflects rising operational costs and several targeted investments.

Salary and benefit costs are projected to increase by $815,334. The division also plans to add staff, including 0.4 of a full-time school psychologist and 0.5 of a transportation assistant, at a cost of $51,500 among others.

The Sun contacted Park West for comment on the proposed budget, but secretary-treasurer Kelly Knight was unavailable for an interview.

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