School board agrees to 2.92% tax increase

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This article was published 23/02/2024 (573 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Trustees in the Brandon School Division agreed Thursday to increase the education property tax by 2.92 per cent.

The school board reached a consensus during its preliminary financial budget deliberations, as it is set to officially approve the preliminary budget at its meeting next week.

For the owner of an average single-family residential home with an assessed value of $281,000, the 2.92 per cent will mean an increase of $25.36, according to administration.

Earlier this month, Brandon City Council voted to raise property taxes by 9.4 per cent, a larger tax hike than experienced in the previous 10 years combined.

Board chair Linda Ross justified the school division’s tax increase, emphasizing the past reluctance to adjust taxes to accommodate rising costs.

“The school division has consistently faced challenges, and this modest 2.92 per cent increase is necessary to meet the needs of our students,” she told the Sun. “We refrained from imposing taxes for a while, but when we were, we had consistent tax increases, but they were small.”

Ross expressed confidence in the school division’s decision, especially compared to the City of Brandon’s much larger increase.

“The city now finds itself in the position where they have to play catchup because they have not consistently done the increase to accommodate increased costs.”

Despite the increase, Ross said the school division’s efforts have been reasonable, aiming to address the needs of students without unnecessary extravagance.

At Thursday’s meeting, vice-chair Jim Murray distinguished between the mandates of the school division and the city, emphasizing the education-focused nature of the school division’s responsibilities.

“Our mandate is more focused, and we receive a significant portion of funding from the province, unlike the city. Our budget is independent, and we base it on the needs of our school division, irrespective of the city’s decisions.”

Trustees were presented with the preliminary financial budget for 2024-25 (excluding budget requests) with projected revenues of $129,120,986, and expenses of $131,234,584, which could lead to a shortfall of $2,113,598. In 2023-24, the division recorded revenues of $122,240,067 and expenses of $121,173,967, which led to a surplus of $518,639 and a reduction in school tax.

The preliminary figures represent more than a $9.06-million jump in expenses from last year’s budget.

In addition to the preliminary financial budget, the trustees also approved a total special requirement adjustment worth $3,451,679.

Some of the approved budget adjustments at the meeting were accessibility ($50,000), facility maintenance and adaptations ($100,000), replacement of teachers due to correction of non-ratio positions ($572,165) and a reading recovery teacher ($95,520), among others.

During the budget presentation, BSD Supt. Mathew Gustafson said the division is experiencing unprecedented enrolment increases.

“In the past two years, our enrolment has increased by approximately seven per cent, with a 3.6 per cent increase this year alone,” Gustafson told the Sun. He said the growth has mirrored Brandon’s population shift in recent years.

While this is a positive for the community, he said, it places additional demands on schools in the areas of staffing, buildings, supplies and services. As well, the division continues to require capital expenditure to ensure there are functioning spaces in which the students can learn.

During the financial budget presentation, secretary-treasurer Denis Labossiere pointed out which expenses affect the budget that can’t be controlled, including utilities, fuel for buses, contracts for software on computers, property and vehicle insurance, and garbage fees.

Controllable expenditures, he said, are professional development, office supplies, cleaning supplies, information technology and equipment.

The provincial government helped ease the funding pressure for the school division earlier this month with a $6.8-million funding boost. It comes after last year’s $6.3 million increase, which was part of a provincewide boost in education funding.

Earlier this month, Education Minister Nello Altomare said Manitoba’s school boards will be allowed to raise taxes this year, a departure from the stance of the previous Progressive Conservative government.

“School divisions right now will be able to go to their local ratepayers and talk to them about their local levy,” Altomare said. “We trust school divisions to make their choices that will impact positively their community … They also know that they have a real partner in the province now that’s going to provide the funding that they need so that when they do go to their ratepayers, they’re judicious in what they’re asking for.”

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