Local school divisions coping with funding cutbacks
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- Published on Thursday, February 16, 2017
By Kate Jackman-Atkinson
The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
Faced with cutbacks to provincial funding, local school divisions have some tough decisions to make as they prepare their budgets. On Feb. 1, the provincial government made their funding announcement for the 2017-2018 school year. While overall, education funding is increasing by $13.1 million, only one division within the Banner’s coverage area will see an increase in funding over last year. In the past, the funding formula guaranteed divisions the same level of funding as the previous year, however, the new formula only guarantees 98 per cent of the previous year’s amount.
Cuts to staffing and supplies
This year, Rolling River School Division (RRSD), Pine Creek School Division (PCSD) and Turtle River School Division (TRSD) will all receive less from the provincial government. RRSD will see their funding fall by $203,448 (2 per cent decrease), PCSD will see their funding fall by $128,110 (1.7 per cent decrease) and TRSD will see their funding fall by $109,000 (1.5 per cent decrease). Beautiful Plains School Division (BPSD) is the only area division that will be receiving more from the provincial government, their funding will rise by approximately $100,000 (1 per cent).
With divisions expecting to receive at least the same as last year, the funding announcement has created some challenges as school boards put the final touches on their budgets. In RRSD, the 2 per cent decrease in provincial funding will result in a number of changes over 2016. Staffing will be cut by 1.4 full time equivalent (FTE) positions and see the elimination of the assistant superintendent and contingency positions. There will also be a decrease in education assistant supports by 6.6 hours per day. Programs will also see some changes: the pre-kindergarten program at Douglas Elementary School will be eliminated and there will be decreases to the outdoor education program supplies, Rivers Collegiate hockey academy supplies and professional development budget. The division will be maintaining band, home economics, industrial arts and power mechanics programs. They will also continue to upgrade computer equipment, as well as maintain device to student ratios.
After a decade of declining enrolment, the division is seeing the numbers move the other way. They started the 2016 school year with 1,729 students, 28 more than the year before, and are forecasting the addition of 22 students at the start of the 2017 school year.
Overall, the RRSD’s proposed budget will be increasing by 1.9 per cent. The increase will be funded by local property taxes. The proposed budget will see the mill rate rise by 5.9 per cent, meaning that for a property valued at $100,000, with no changes to assessment, property owners will pay $30.20 more for their residential, $17.45 more for their farmland and $43.65 more for their commercial properties compared to 2016. The RRSD’s pre budget consultation meeting will take place Feb. 22, at the division office in Minnedosa.
PCSD not planning to cut human resources
The PCSD board is still deliberating how they will make up the $130,000 cut in provincial funding. Secretary-treasurer Robyn Winters explains that the trustees have spoken about whether or not some initiatives, such as capital projects, may or may not continue or move forward in the division as originally planned. She added that the board has agreed that maintaining employment levels in all departments is a priority and are not looking at cuts to its human resources. While they are facing a cut in provincial funding, Winters said they are projecting an increase in enrolment for the 2017 school year.
Without making any changes, Winters said the Board is looking at an increase they were not expecting to have to face. “Pine Creek has substantially less than the 4 per cent allowable surplus level that the government has mandated and therefore does not have the ability to draw down levy amounts by applying surplus – these funds have been depleted since the 2014/15 fiscal year,” she said. While local property owners are likely to see an increase, Winter explained that the increase isn’t likely to be as large as that experienced for the 2016 school year, which was required to catch up on previous years.
The budget consultation meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 28 at WMCI in Gladstone.
Always challenges
Much like PCSD, TRSD is facing some challenges from a funding cutback of $109,000 or 1.5 per cent. Shannon Desjardins, secretary-treasurer, explained, “I was expecting and hoping for the same funding as last year.” Last year, the division triggered the formula guarantee, promising them the same level of funding as the year before. The new guarantee promises at least 98 per cent of the previous year. Desjardins explains that they are still in the early stages of the budget process and can’t say much about how the cutback will impact the budget, however, “Receiving less funding will always have its challenges,” she explained.
Property owners are likely to face an increase, but at this time, the amount is unknown. Their public meeting will be held on March 7.
Rising funding, but not as much as previous years
The BPSD is the only division in the area to see its funding increase, but not as much as in the past year. This year, BPSD will see its provincial funding rise by 1 per cent, though secretary-treasurer Shannon Bayes said that in previous years, an increase of approximately 5 per cent was received. The funding formula is based primarily on enrolment, which is one of the reasons the BPSD is seeing an increase in funding. For the 2016 school year, the division added 70 full-time equivalent students compared to September 2015.
Bayes said that the board hasn’t yet determined how the increase will be allocated. “All areas are being examined, including any initiatives, programs and investments during these discussions,” she said. Once the proposed budget has been finalized, they will better know the impact on local ratepayers. The BPSD’s pre-budget meetings are set for Feb. 27 in Carberry and March 1 in Neepawa.
