Pembina Trails School Division draft budget includes two per cent property tax hike

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This article was published 27/02/2025 (266 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Pembina Trails School Division trustees have tabled a two per cent hike in local property taxes to pay for dozens of new hires in 2025-26.

The board of trustees that oversees public education in Linden Woods, Waverley West and surrounding communities is scheduled to hear feedback on its draft budget tonight.

The $246-million plan includes 76.6 new full-time-equivalent teaching positions that will be deployed across Pembina Trails — one of the fastest-growing divisions in Manitoba.

Between September 2022 and September 2023, the latest available enrolment data, Pembina Trails registered 765 new students. It was the third largest year-over-year increase in the province.

The Kinew government, which distributes dollars based on student population, school nutrition program needs and other factors, earmarked $93.6 million for the division’s operations next year. That is the equivalent of a 1.5 per cent increase in provincial funding.

There are few standouts in the vague financial plan that’s been made public, but administration is touting its continued support for Ignite3. The free, division-run camp was created to help elementary schoolers review and improve their basic literacy and numeracy skills over the summer break.

The local teachers’ union is the sole delegation signed up Thursday to make a presentation on the contents of the draft budget, per a meeting agenda.

“I believe in this board. I am confident that they are recognizing the growing needs and opportunities in classrooms and schools,” said Lise Legal, president of the Pembina Trails Teachers’ Association, ahead of the event.

“I am, therefore, optimistic that the division will take advantage of the removal of government restrictions to increase the mill rate beyond two per cent.”

Last month, Legal urged board members to hire more clinicians and shrink class sizes. Psychologists, occupational therapists and their colleagues are facing hefty workloads as is, she said, noting that those employees play a critical role in supporting students dealing with emotional-regulation issues.

Not long after the NDP was elected, Premier Wab Kinew reinstated trustee taxing powers. The previous Progressive Conservative administration issued strict guidelines and penalized decision-makers who defied its requests.

Internal government records show Pembina Trails’ mill rate rose by 3.4 per cent, from 10.067 in 2023-24 to 10.405 in 2024-25. It remains the lowest of all metro-area boards.

The division did not release the average cost of a residence within its borders, but indicated its current budget proposal would increase a “typical” homeowner’s taxes by about $40. That estimate does not take into consideration the province’s new and flat $1,500 rebates.

Superintendent Shelley Amos, secretary-treasurer Scott Carleton and board chair Cindy Nachtigall did not respond to requests for comment.

In a statement posted on the division’s website, Amos said the division is committed to running “optimal learning environments” and decreasing elementary class sizes with a particular focus on kindergarten to Grade 3.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca