On Friday Feb 5, the Manitoba Department of Education announced funding for Manitoba's public schools for the 2021-2022 school year. On paper, Louis Riel School Division received a 1% increase; some divisions got more, some got less. When you factor in the 'fine print', equalization and special funding grants, limits set on education property tax increases etc, it's a lot to wrap your head around. Boards around the province, including the Louis Riel School Board, can finally start to make sense of what it all really mean in terms of the provision of programs, supports, and services for their respective communities as they develop budgets for the upcoming school year.
If you want it short and sweet, Manitoba School Boards Association (MSBA) summed it up nicely in this tweet.
For years education stakeholders and partners have been asking for a funding model reflective of public education in the here-and-now. A sustainable and predictable model would allow for planning and forecasting, not just for school divisions, but for rural municipalities and the City of Winnipeg. There will be many who will be happy to see the promised time come when property tax bills arrive in the mail minus the education portion, but how will that money be replaced?
As the saying goes, 'there is only one taxpayer'.
In practically the same sentence in which he announced our funding allocations, Education Minister Cliff Cullen promised the date of release of the long awaited K-12 review report would be made soon. Government hasn't hidden the fact that it's all about student outcomes. 'Modernizing' education in Manitoba, directed by a bill of the same name (introduced without releasing the contents by the way) appears to be the modus operandi. MSBA President Alan Campbell hit the nail on the head in this tweet. It's all about test scores for our current government, and how Manitoba compares to other provinces. Here's another bit of perspective (partly copied below);
"When national test scores are adjusted to account for the devastating poverty that too many students experience— a factor that has only worsened as thousands of parents have been laid off or lost their jobs during this heartbreaking pandemic— Manitoba’s students truly stand near the top of the Canadian class. They are not among the “bottom”— if that is indeed an appropriate term to describe any child." Manitoba School Boards Association
If 'modernizing' education doesn't include a direct and sustainable poverty reduction strategy, then all will be for naught and test scores will stay right where they are.
On several media interviews following the funding announcement, Campbell reminded us that the K-12 review took place before COVID-19 unleashed some relentless, unforeseen, and in come cases unmanageable pressures and influences. Is it fair to release a report, that speculation suggests could realign or see the demise of school divisions in Manitoba, on a system currently stretched to the breaking point? If so, can we count on the report to 'modernize' our education system appropriately, taking into consideration where we are as communities, as we head into a post-pandemic time?
Lots to think about. I'm focused on opportunities and what is possible for students when true consultation and collaboration takes place. The kind that invites expertise, experience and, oh yes, grassroots community voice and leadership.
I was elected because I believed in what we call "grassroots politics," politics from the bottom up, not the top down. Barack Obama
