The Winnipeg School Division (WSD) Board of Trustees has approved a budget for the 2022/23 school year. The final budget being submitted to the province equals $437,118,200, which includes $13,217,517 in one-time funding and $525,358 from accumulated surplus to offset a budgeted deficit. Baseline WSD funding has decreased by 1.3 percent, or $2,325,538 and property tax levies for education remain frozen at 2020 levels.
"We consulted with the community based on what we knew to be very limited opportunities for changes," said Betty Edel, Chair of the WSD Board of Trustees. "Unwarranted limitations this provincial government has placed on school divisions' ability to raise revenue is continuing to put programs and services in jeopardy." Edel says the cap on the property education tax levy leaves WSD in a deficit budget situation.
"It is completely unsustainable for school divisions to use accumulated surplus funds to balance the annual budget," said Edel. "Provincial one-time funding for the current school year and the 2022/23 school year is a red flag that this provincial government must not ignore." One-time provincial funding and accessing WSD accumulated surplus funds, plus the discontinuation of full-day Kindergarten at 11 schools, have made it possible for WSD to maintain all other current programs and services for another year.
"During our budget consultation we heard from some members of the community that eliminating full-day Kindergarten is not well supported," said Edel. "While it is the decision for this fall, assessing and planning more broadly for Early Childhood Programming is something the Board will be addressing."
