Sunrise division approves 6.9% school tax hike

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This article was published 12/03/2024 (411 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sunrise School division expects to have 14 more students this fall. It also plans on spending $7.3 million or nearly 9.7 percent more than this school year.

The 2024-25 budget is $81.8 million plus $1 million pending provincial funding for adult learning, compared to $75.5 million for this past school year.

With the province’s increased funding to Sunrise limited to 1.8 percent, and with more than half of that going to a nutrition program, the school division got $222,000 more to spend on education. That left $42.37 million to be made up by taxpayers.

Sunrise’s increase was lower than most because of growth increasing the tax base to nearly $3 billion in property assessments this year, up $1 billion from just 11 years ago.

On Tuesday, the school board passed a 6.9 percent increase in the mill rate. That is a $144.36 increase in school taxes on a home assessed at $400,000. Half of that is expected to be deducted as a provincial rebate, leaving the homeowner with $72.18 more to pay. That total bill with the 50 percent rebate is $1,109.

The Province has not said if that school tax rebate will extend beyond next school year.

The increase in spending was explained by a letter from the school division as, “the continuation of inflationary pressures of increased wages and benefits, increased insurance, hydro, natural gas and other utility costs.”

It also pointed out that the previous provincial government restricted school tax increases, which the division said forced it to use accumulated surplus to pay a $673,000 deficit for 2023-24. The division had also delayed buying new buses and adding teachers for increased enrolment.

This year’s budget increase means adding 3.77 teacher positions, four education assistants, one resource teacher, 0.2 of a occupational therapist position, more “school-based decision making” funding, increased language program support, more distance education courses for Hutterian schools, seven replacement buses, a quarter of a support staff position, an online payment feasibility study, electoral boundary review, and projected salary settlements.

The biggest department jump in dollars is the biggest piece of the budget pie: regular instruction. That is up $3.44 million or eight percent to $44.03 million. The division cites wages and supply cost inflation as the main reasons for the increase. There are 799 employees with 383 teachers, plus 534 casual employees.

The largest increase in percent goes to student support, up 12 percent or $1.65 million to $15.51 million. It is also said to be because of wages, plus more support staff at some sites.

Maintenance of division offices, 13 public schools, six Hutterite colony schools, and four adult learning centres is the next most expensive part of the budget at $7.81 million, up seven percent.

Busing will cost $6.22 million, up five percent. The large rural division has 91 bus routes travelling 2.7 million km every year, with 80 percent of students riding the bus.

Administration costs are up seven percent to $2.44 million. Instructional support is up eight percent to $1.78 million.