What you need to know about education funding in our region
Submitted by Lord Selkirk School Division’s Board of Trustees
Education Funding is Complex
That is why the new funding model review, initially promised for the 2024/25 school year, has been halted. Funding is tied to enrollment, in part, and so when LSSD(Lord Selkirk School Division) saw a declining enrollment trend that began around 2014, we saw a decrease in provincial funding as it related to number of students. The challenge is that regardless of the number of students in a school, it needs lights on, to be heated and maintained, and insurance and taxes need to be paid. It was also during that time that we saw six consecutive years of two per cent cuts each year, equating to about $500,000 each year.
The Good News
Enrollment numbers have rebounded and have returned to the 2014 level, and with all the development throughout the division, we are projecting about 100 additional students each year.
The Challenges
Finding space for all the current and anticipated students is becoming more difficult. Changing catchment boundaries is a temporary fix. We have submitted a request for additional portable classrooms and will be requesting a new school as part of our capital request submission to the Province, but we have no expected date for a response.
We are dealing with aging infrastructure – 12 of our 15 schools are more than 55 years old. We prioritize maintenance, but roof, boiler, and in some cases, foundational repair or replacement is exorbitant.
Provincial funding for LSSD is currently back to the 2014 level. However, since 2014, staffing costs have increased 30 per cent, utilities, materials and supplies, insurance and maintenance costs have increased similarly.
An assessment year took place in 2024. These assessments are carried out by Assessment Services (https://www.manitoba.ca/mr/assessment/), and property values reflect these assessments. This has meant some properties in LSSD have been assessed to be more valuable, and in some cases, much more valuable. Our division encompasses properties located in six different RMs/cities and the change in assessments varied significantly throughout the division.
The 2025 Homeowners Affordability Tax Credit replaces the Education Property Tax Credit. This credit is on principal dwellings only. Seasonal properties do not qualify. The other key distinction is that the credit is directly linked to the value of the property to a maximum of $1,500 ($1,600 for 2026). The School Tax Rebate provided to residential properties has been eliminated by the provincial government.
To be clear, both the assessment process and the tax credit are decided by the government and LSSD has no input or control over either.
Provincial vs municipal funding is a challenge. In 1988, the province was providing 62 per cent of education costs. Municipalities were contributing the other 38 per cent. In 2025, the provincial portion of our budget still accounted for 60 per cent of our budget, but a significant portion of that amount related to the tax rebates that would have otherwise come from taxpayers. With those amounts removed, the provincial portion of our budget only accounts for 40 per cent.
Bill 45 was proclaimed by the government in 2022. It is the Public Schools Amendment and Manitoba Teachers’ Society Amendment Act, which has required school divisions and teachers to bargain provincially rather than locally. The cost of this “harmonization” is estimated to be $22.8 Million. The government is contributing $11.4 Million, requiring school divisions to come up with the remaining $11.4 Million.
So, while headlines proclaim millions of extra dollars are being allocated to education, the reality is that the government is covering much less than half the cost and are requiring school divisions to make the difficult decisions, which is why “Education funding is complex”.
