Property owners across the Prairie Rose School Division (PRSD) will see higher school taxes on their 2026 bills, but trustees say the increases stem more from provincial policy decisions and assessment shifts than from local spending.
The division, which covers communities stretching from Carman through St. Claude, Elm Creek, Miami and surrounding rural areas, is preparing for another difficult budget cycle as Manitoba continues phasing out the education property tax rebate. At the same time, farmland and residential assessments have climbed at rates many municipalities describe as disproportionate.
While Municipalities in the region have no control over rates for 2026, they are expecting to see another increase in assessed values following the province’s reassessment cycle. Although the school division does not control assessment, rising property values automatically shift more tax burden onto local ratepayers unless the provincial formula adjusts accordingly.
PRSD superintendent, Kevin Clace said trustees are hearing the concerns from tax payers.
“With increasing costs and inflation, it is always a challenge to ensure the division is providing quality programming and services to students. The PRSD Board of Trustees are committed to working towards creative solutions to ensure students receive quality education while supporting delivery of essential services,” he said.
Inflation, contractual wage obligations, fuel, transportation, and student-needs supports have collectively outpaced provincial funding increases for several consecutive years. This has left rural divisions like Prairie Rose relying more heavily on the local tax base to balance budgets.
The province’s education funding guarantee — intended to limit annual tax increases — is increasingly difficult to meet, trustees say, because mandatory costs cannot be cut without affecting classrooms.
Clace noted creating the 2025-2026 budget was a complex process as the division attempted to understand how the adjustments to the Homeowners Affordability Tax Credit (HATC) and School Tax Rebate would impact local rate payers. This year, PRSD had to levy a two per cent increase in order to maintain current operations.
The tax impact varies widely depending on location and property type. Farmland has seen some of the largest assessment increases in Manitoba, meaning producers are absorbing a higher share of the school levy even when mill rates stay stable or decline.
While tax relief options like the HATC and Farmland School Tax Rebate (FSTR) exist, municipal leaders still say they are not enough.
They also say that the responsibility that provincial funding models place on property owners is too extreme.
“It [places too much responsibility] but until a better way is implemented and school divisions need funding, the taxpayer will share some of that burden,” said Brian Callum, Reeve for the RM of Thompson.
RM of St. Laurent, Billie Jean Oliver had similar opinions, expressing the 2025 funding model majorly impacted cottage owners of those who own more than one property, especially since the HATC could only be applied to permanent dwellings.
“Many of the ratepayers asked why they have to even pay the school taxes when they do not have children in school or their children go to school in a different region,” she added, noting farmers with in the municipality didn’t have a significant impact as the FSTR did not change.
Sharla Murray, CAO of the Town of Carman also said that the current model is too heavy on property tax payers. “When provincial funding doesn’t keep pace, the shortfall shows up on municipal tax bills that we must collect but don’t control,” she said. “This impacts homeowners already dealing with affordability issues, and it hits farmers particularly hard because school taxes are based on land value, not income.
Within the Town of Carman, she explained farmers are hit the hardest because the FSTR is seeing a decline. “With the rebate shrinking over time and requiring annual MASC (Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation) applications, the financial impact on farmland continues to grow,” she added.
RM of Roland reeve Jodi Gaultier shared every reassessment imposes a level of burden on taxpayers, especially farmland owners.
“While assessments have increased for all types of properties, with the change in education property tax credits this year most residents in the RM of Roland saw their education taxes actually decrease but the farmland went up almost 19 per cent in some cases,” she explained.
The RM of Grey was unavailable to comment on the topic at this time.
Callum, Oliver and Murray all say the deal with the consequence of taxpayer’s complaints over high school taxes, but all want payers to know they are not involved with determining the rates.
PRSD continues to face demands for more student supports, technology upgrades, and facilities maintenance — particularly aging rural schools requiring mechanical and accessibility improvements.
While it’s still too early to determine the 2026-2027 school year budget, Clace calls for changes to provincial funding.
“PRSD Board of Trustees strongly supports the Manitoba School Boards Association, in advocating for a significant shift in the education funding model,” he added. “Which calls on the Provincial Government to contribute 80% of operating costs, to ensure greater equity and stability for school divisions across Manitoba.”
The provincial government has signalled interest in overhauling Manitoba’s education funding model, but no timeline has been provided. Division officials say real reform must ensure predictable funding that aligns with inflation and program requirements.
Municipal leaders in the PRSD area have also urged the province to reconsider its school tax strategy, warning that continued reliance on property owners — particularly farmers — is unsustainable.
“A more predictable and provincially supported funding model would help reduce the volatility tied to property assessments,” said Murray. “Increasing the province’s share of school operating costs and reviewing how agricultural land is taxed would create more fairness for rural areas. Stabilizing or improving the FSTR program would also help producers who have been absorbing more of the education tax load as the rebate has declined.” She thinks the education funding framework needs to be fair, stable and doesn’t place a disproportionate amount of responsibility on taxpayers.
“These tax pressures are happening at a time when overall living and operating costs are rising. Federal and provincial policies—whether through taxation, regulation, or economic decisions—directly influence inflation and affordability,” she added.
Callum wants to see complete elimination.
“I would think the only way to make things fair for tax payers is to remove school tax completely from property tax,” he said.
Gaultier had similar remarks.
“I would like to see Education funding move away from a property tax model. In particular, it would be nice if collecting the education tax did not fall on the shoulders of the municipalities as it can create animosity and confusion for ratepayers who don’t understand that the municipality has no control over education property tax–– we merely collect it and then transfer it to the school divisions.”
PRSD will release its preliminary 2026–27 draft budget in February, following the provincial funding announcement to be made at the end of January.
