Tory MLA: NDP school tax decision ‘wrongheaded’

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This article was published 02/03/2024 (667 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The recent decision by the NDP government to restore school boards’ ability to raise property taxes is wrongheaded, says Grant Jackson, Tory MLA for Spruce Woods.

The restored taxation power will place a greater burden on families, particularly in Brandon, where property owners are facing both a 9.4 per cent increase in municipal taxes and almost three per cent from the school division, he told the Brandon Sun.

“That is a huge increase in one year for families who are struggling with high inflation and an affordability crisis,” Jackson told the Sun. “It’s a very disappointing situation that the new NDP government has put these other levels of government in by not supporting them better at the operational level.”

Jackson touted measures put in place by his party when it governed the province before it was defeated last fall. It had moved away from property taxation as a funding model for the education system, he said, adding Manitoba is one of the last provinces in the country to fund education on the backs of property owners.

“I would have hoped that would have continued. Property taxes are high enough, particularly as you’re seeing with increases in municipal taxes,” he said.

Education Minister Nello Altomare defended the decision as a way to ensure predictable funding.

“We expect locally elected school trustees to make budget decisions in consultation with their ratepayers,” Altomare told the Sun in an email. “We are implementing an overall operating funding increase of 3.4 per cent for public schools, surpassing the provincial inflation rate.”

The minister said there is trust in school divisions to make decisions for their communities.

Several school divisions have included property tax increases in their proposed budgets for the 2024-25 school year.

Manitoba’s largest school board, the Winnipeg School Division, is considering a 3.4 per cent hike; Pembina Trails School Division proposes a three per cent increase; Louis Riel School Division is proposing a 7.5 per cent tax increase.

The Brandon School Division has proposed a 2.92 per cent education property tax increase, which would mean an average increase of $25.36 per homeowner.

Jackson said he encourages property owners affected by the tax hikes to reach out to school trustees, the provincial government and the education minister.

“If this is going to be a challenge for you, we need to work together to take that forward to this NDP government,” he said.

— Brandon Sun