Brandon School Division to get $6.3M funding boost

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This article was published 03/02/2023 (1160 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Brandon School Division is set for a $6.3-million funding boost as part of a $100.2-million increase in education funding this year, the province announced Thursday.

In a media briefing, Education Minister Wayne Ewasko said funding increases were determined by various socioeconomic factors and each division would receive at least a 2.5 per cent funding bump this year.

“We’re ensuring that all students succeed, regardless of where they live in Manitoba, their cultural background or their own individual circumstance,” Ewasko said.

“To achieve this, schools and school divisions require funding to help them address the funding pressures and strengthen student learning and support.”

Of those new funds, which Ewasko said the division could spend as they see fit, $23.9 million is coming in the form of a property tax offset grant, with the province continuing to phase out education property taxes.

The largest chunk of the money, $62.9 million, is designated as an increase in operating budget support including $20 million to address “cost pressures” such as inflation and $5 million to improve services for students with special needs.

“When you look at economies of scale, whether that’s urban like here in Winnipeg or even the city of Brandon and then you look outside to rural, northern [communities] and even further north, you can’t really compare apples to apples,” Ewasko said about determining funding boosts for each division.

“We also know there are cost pressures out there for all school divisions, whether that’s some of the socioeconomic factors or the transportation costs that everyone’s experiencing.”

There is also an $8-million increase in payments for capital projects and $5 million for independent schools.

On top of that, the province will spend $106 million to make one-time funding announced last year permanent.

Those waiting for the province to announce a new funding model to replace education property taxes will have to wait longer, with Ewasko saying work continues on that front and will restart in earnest after the province’s budget is released in a few months.

The minister said he couldn’t commit to the funding model being sorted out by the time Manitobans go to the polls on or before Oct. 3.

Brandon school board chair Linda Ross declined to comment when reached by text message, saying she would need more details before speaking.

Last year, the BSD had to cut 10.69 full-time equivalent positions to make up for a $1.2-million budget shortfall.

The Manitoba Teachers’ Society had a mixed reaction to the announcement, praising the government for its largest funding increase in decades but criticizing the province for not making up for years of underfunding.

“Cuts to student programs, teacher shortages, class size issues, lack of special needs resources, mental health and Indigenous programming, not enough meal programs, and soaring inflation will continue to challenge public schools next year,” president James Bedford stated in a news release.

Bedford, whose union was a part of the committee tasked with finding a new public school funding model, said the committee should’ve finished its work by now but the government suspended its meetings and the new funding model won’t be ready until next year.

In a phone interview, Manitoba NDP Leader Wab Kinew echoed Bedford’s concerns about this increase not keeping pace with perceived underfunding in previous years. He also wondered if this significant jump in funding was made with an election on the horizon.

“We’ve seen this government cut school funding relative to inflation,” Kinew said.

“We saw them bring in Bill 64. All this persistent underfunding has led to problems in Brandon and in Westman. Fewer teachers, fewer [educational assistants], programs to help newcomer students being scaled back. This announcement today is not enough to make up for it.”

Though Kinew said his party has an idea for a replacement funding model should the NDP form the next government, he said Manitobans would have to wait until closer to the election to learn more.

“We would fund schools better than the Progressive Conservatives have,” he said.

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