Province to restart public education funding review after five-month pause

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This article was published 29/05/2023 (916 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba government is “unpausing” its review of how it pays for public education in the province, five months after announcing it needed more time to overhaul the existing formula.

Education Minister Wayne Ewasko told reporters his office will ensure all school boards receive a funding increase during the “transition time.”

Ewasko did not say exactly how long that period will be, but suggested it could range from one to five years.

The province was anticipated to implement a new equation to distribute funds for kindergarten to Grade 12 schools in 2023-24, but the project was delayed prior to the annual winter funding announcement.

During a scrum at the legislature Monday, Ewasko said the delay was, in part, the result of school division requests because recent trustee elections seated some new faces and newly appointed secretary-treasurers across the province.

“Education partners have been screaming about the old, antiquated and confusing, to say the least, funding model for the last 20-plus years so as we continue to move forward working with our education partners, we’ll see on how that funding model comes out,” he said.

The minister indicated the province is resuming engagement and seeking additional feedback on the K-12 funding model from school divisions, superintendents and stakeholder associations, among others.

Initial consultations began last spring and a proposed new model was drafted based on early feedback.

The Manitoba NDP recently released leaked documents that showed one November 2022 draft would have resulted in cutting millions from Winnipeg school boards’ budgets.

The confidential proposal suggested 14 boards, including all but one metro division, River East Transcona, would have received fewer dollars if the updated formula was implemented.

Following its release, Finance Minister Cliff Cullen said that formula was outdated and “completely rejected.”

In February, Ewasko announced the province was topping up funding for all boards — many of which have experienced consecutive funding decreases in recent years in line with the Tories’ austerity approach.

Critics were quick to connect the announcement — a stark contrast to previous statements made throughout Premier Heather Stefanson’s and predecessor Brian Pallister’s respective tenures at the helm of the Progressive Conservative party — to the upcoming election.

— With files from Carol Sanders

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie