Our provincial government is once again providing strong support for school divisions across Manitoba, with an overall funding increase of $6.6 million. This funding includes a 7.4 per cent increase for Mystery Lake School Division in 2018-19, amounting to a hike of $2,294,884.
As our Minister of Education, Ian Wishart, said recently when making the announcement, we are committed to the best possible education for students from kindergarten to Grade 12. As well as the $1.323 billion for public schools in the 2018-19 school year, we are boosting funding for the Intensive Newcomers Support Contingency from $60,000 to $100,000.
We are taking a balanced approach to repairing the provincial education system that Manitoba families rely on, while creating efficiency within it. Our government is making school boards more efficient with consolidated provincial bargaining. The intention to move from 38 local collective agreements to one provincial agreement will put teacher resources back on the front lines and in the classrooms instead of around bargaining tables. Classrooms are where teachers want to be and where they are needed most. The move to consolidated bargaining is also keeping in step with other provinces’ efforts to streamline and make the process work more efficiently. Manitoba is the only province that has not moved to some form of provincial bargaining.
Our government, in addition, is mandating an increase cap for local school taxes. School divisions need to manage their expenditures while meeting the needs of students. Administrative costs for divisions have increased by nine per cent to $68.4 million in just three years. We applaud those divisions that are working hard to responsibly manage their administration budgets. We want divisions to limit increases to their local education property taxes to two per cent for the 2018-19 school year.
After 17 years of mismanagement under the previous NDP government, we are carefully steering Manitoba’s education system on a path to ensure quality education for all. Under the NDP, Manitoba’s high-school dropout rate was the second-highest of all the provinces.
We will also launch a review of the K-12 education system in early 2019, in part with consultations across Manitoba. The review will focus on improving student outcomes as well as financial management, governance, efficiency and effectiveness.
The direction we are taking is about a better use of time, a better use of resources and much better results for students across our province.
