NDP on defensive over proposed school tax hikes

By: Danielle Da Silva Posted: 7:50 PM CST Wednesday, Mar. 6, 2024

Premier Wab Kinew says proposed school tax hikes — some as high as 17 per cent — are a result of school boards needing to play “catch up” following years of cuts to education by the Conservatives.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/03/2024 (580 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Wednesday, the Tories, now in opposition, accused the government of giving school divisions a green light to increase costs for Manitobans.

“The NDP chose higher taxes at a time when families are struggling with the cost of living,” interim PC Leader Wayne Ewasko charged in the first question period of the spring sitting.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Wayne Ewasko, interim leader of the official opposition, accused the government of giving school divisions a green light to hike education taxes which will increase costs for Manitobans.

School boards across Manitoba have proposed local property tax increases in draft budgets that range from 3.4 per cent in the Winnipeg School Division to 17 per cent in the rural Western School Division.

Last month, the NDP government announced every school division would receive an increase in overall funding for 2024-25 and school trustees would once again have the power to raise local levies without facing penalties.

The government said an additional $93.4 million in operating funding (including $30.5 million for new projects) and, on average, boards would see baseline funding increase by 3.4 per cent in 2024-25.

Under the former PC government, school boards were barred from raising taxes and stripped of their property tax offset grant if they increased levies.

Tory MLA Grant Jackson said tax hikes brought forward by school boards are due to the government’s “meagre increase to their operating grants.”

“How does this minister think it’s appropriate for a tax hike like that for farmers and families during an affordability crisis,” the rookie MLA said.

Kinew said the NDP government is on the side of blue-collar, working folk.

The government has paused the 14-cent per litre provincial gas tax and will roll out a universal school nutrition program to help Manitobans make ends meet and children succeed in class, he said.

The education system has been underfunded for years, Kinew said.

“It means that we are going to be playing catch-up because investing in education is the best investment we can make when it comes to the economy,” Kinew said.

Speaking to reporters after question period, Kinew said the government expects divisions to be responsible when drafting budgets as families continue to struggle to meet the financial obligations.

“We’ve brought forward a funding increase that is above the rate of inflation, which takes into account enrolment in the divisions, too,” Kinew said.

The provincial government will help Manitobans keep more of their money where it can, Kinew said, but school divisions have authority to make their own decisions.

“As a result, any accountability questions should be put to them,” he said.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca