WINNIPEG – The provincial government advised school boards cut costs and reign in spending following a 2 per cent or $24 million, increase this year. School divisions around the province did the opposite.
“It is a concern for me because the system is well funded,” said James Allum, Minister of Education and Advanced Learning. “Parents understand they’re taxpayers as well, but those dollars need to be used responsibly and they need to be injected into the classrooms.”
School board after school board has defied the provincial government and raised taxes. Winnipeg School Division, Seven Oaks School Division, Louis Riel School Division — among the several divisions increasing property taxes by over 3 per cent.
“It’s evident the school boards are disagreeing with [the provincial government],” said Wayne Ewasko, PC education critic. “I think the minister now should be open to listening to what the school board is saying.”
Critics say it’s no surprise property taxes have gone up considering this year’s financial commitment from the Manitoba government is the lowest increase in five years. One Winnipeg School Division trustee calls this a round-about way by the province to generate revenue.
“They got some bad media attention in regards to the 1% PST hike so [the provincial government] has to figure out different ways to pay for their initiatives,” said Mike Babinsky. “So they bring out their initiative, and they offload the expense onto different people.”