Q&A, and PowerPoint—Virtual Budget Town Hall, Feb. 29, 2024
On February 29, 2024, the Board of Trustees held its second Virtual Budget Town Hall to provide a preview of the draft budget to the community.
Attendees were provided an opportunity to ask budget-related questions during the event. In the spirit of open, transparent, and honest communication with our public, below you will find responses to the questions posed, as well as the PowerPoint presentation that was shared (see bottom of this page). Please note: We have combined similar questions. If you submitted a question during the budget meeting and you do not see a response below, please email: info@retsd.mb.ca.
Funding & Costs
What does a status quo budget mean?
A status quo budget represents the funding that is required to maintain current levels of programs, programming, and services for students and staff based on the estimated student enrolment for the 2024–25 school year. It also includes increases to fixed costs (e.g., insurance, utilities, statutory benefits). However, no new programs, programming, or services will be added.
The province provided an increase of $8.2 million in the recent funding announcement. How can RETSD fall $15 million short of a status quo budget?
It is important to note that $1.3 million dollars of the increase is specifically for the funding of nutritional programming in the school division. The balance of $6.9 million added to the funding of schools does not keep up with the increased enrolment and costs the division is experiencing. The status quo budget includes increases in school staffing based on increased student enrolment, increases to fixed costs, fuel for buses and possible increases for upcoming staffing salaries.
Did the board contemplate a larger increase that would go beyond the status quo?
Part of the role of a trustee is to listen to their constituents, balancing the needs of the division with the realities of the community. In the RETSD community, there are those who can afford the tax increases; however, there are also those for whom an increase in taxes would be difficult. Since the future of education funding is unclear, the Board of Trustees remains prudent and cognizant of its fiscal responsibility to all the taxpayers of RETSD. The proposed increase allows for the division to accommodate growth in the division while balancing the needs of the taxpayer.
After the 2023–24 budget was approved last year, RETSD announced the phasing out of IB and reductions to library technicians. Regardless of the option chosen for the upcoming budget, how will the Board of Trustees share what reductions, if any, will need to be made?
If the Board of Trustees pursues the status quo budget (Option 2), there will be no reductions. If Option 1 is selected, reductions will be announced following the budget approval.
I appreciate all the efforts the Board of Trustees has made to bring attention to the inequitable funding formula. It is fundamentally broken. How can we, as parents and community members, more actively advocate to support your voices and push for change?
RETSD has been adversely impacted by an inequitable funding formula since its inception. The Board of Trustees has met with the government numerous times over the years to present and share its concerns about the cumulative impact of the current funding model. However, the RETSD community and public can also help. Please consider reaching out directly to the Premier, Minister of Early Learning & Education, and your local MLAs to let them know that RETSD needs an equitable funding, so we can build on the rich, diverse programming offered to our students. Let your elected officials know that funding quality education matters!
I would like some clarification around the reason our school division is severely lacking in the funding and resources our students so desperately need, while other divisions have more money to spend.
This is due to the historical underfunding RETSD has faced, as we have one of the lowest mill rates in Winnipeg and the third lowest property assessment. In general, a low mill rate is likely due to a high property assessment and vice versa. When the government capped school board taxing authority at two per cent, there was no other way to generate revenue that would meet increasing costs; therefore, cuts had to be made to balance the budget. The mill rate history for all city school divisions is available on the City of Winnipeg website. The total property assessment and property assessment per student is available in the FRAME reports on the province’s website.
Why did RETSD just spend money on new laptops for every teacher?
Teachers in RETSD have been provided with computers to do their work for many years. Technology must be upgraded regularly, and we keep all devices on a refresh cycle to limit repairs and disruption to work. Last year, as the tender for teacher technology was up for renewal, we changed from desktop computers to laptops. We learned through the pandemic that we needed to ensure teachers could be mobile if needed. Laptops are also more relevant technology to use for instruction and assessment.
How have administrative costs been reduced?
Administrative costs include the superintendent’s department, finance, human resources, information technology, and the trustees. As indicated in the FRAME report on the province’s website, RETSD’s admin costs have gone down. For at least five years, the province has had a limit on school divisions over 5,000 students of 2.7 per cent for administrative costs and RETSD has never been above that 2.7 per cent. The most recent FRAME information (2022–23), specifically page 68, shows RETSD at 2.52 per cent for administrative costs.
What would the savings be if the retirement age of all division staff increased by one year?
There would not be any savings by increasing the retirement age. Typically, teachers of retirement age are some of the highest paid teachers in the division, so forcing them to work an extra year would not result in as much savings as hiring a new teacher. There are also collective agreement issues and human rights legislation that would make it impossible for the division to mandate a particular retirement age.
Is there an alternative to printing and mailing out The Torch?
The Board of Trustees communicates with its public in a variety of ways, including social media and the divisional website. The Torch allows the board to reach and inform the entire community of RETSD. Not all constituents access their information digitally, preferring information that comes in hard copy and in the mail. Everyone has a right to access essential information about RETSD and The Torch is a way to guarantee that access.
The 2023 financial statements have capital additions of $34 million, $20million more than the prior year. What is this and why would we do this in times when cash is thin?
There is a difference between operational funding and capital funding. When it comes to projects such as renovations and additions, the monies come directly from the province as part of capital funding. The Board of Trustees submits a five-year capital plan every year, and the province decides which projects to fund. Capital funding is separate from the operating budget and is approved and paid for entirely by the province. The funding for capital projects does not impact the special requirement set by the board.
Why are travel conferences for RETSD teachers allowed in tough budget times?
In addition to the excellent professional learning that is delivered divisionally, some teachers choose to travel to receive professional learning. The collective agreement between the Board of Trustees and the teachers’ association includes a clause about a Personal Professional Development Fund. Contractually, these funds must be set aside for this purpose and cannot be used for anything else.
How does the budget for educational assistants get distributed throughout the school division?
Before 2016, school division staff applied for categorical grant funding per student with additional needs. Currently, the monies to support the additional learning and well-being needs of students is supported by a provincial block funding grant. The needs of the students entering our division exceed the support provided by this provincial grant, which is why the board provides additional funds. Allocation of the funds to schools is formula-driven and depends on site-based characteristics such as enrolment, number of students with diagnoses, socio-economic status, etc.
Are you able to garner any philanthropic support from the industries in the community?
What savings could be realized if pension plans were converted from defined benefit to defined contribution?
At RETSD, only teachers have a defined benefit pension plan. All other employees who qualify for a pension are on a defined contribution pension plan. The division would not be able to switch teachers to a defined contribution pension plan as that would violate the Teachers’ Pension Act. For more information, please visit the TRAF pension website.
What about a contingency fund? What will the division do if an emergent situation arises that wasn’t accounted for in the budget?
Auditors recommend that school divisions have between three and five per cent of their overall budget put aside as surplus. Due to the underfunding RETSD has experienced in recent years and the arbitrated salary settlements in 2021, our surplus is significantly lower than recommended. The Board of Trustees will continue to work diligently to increase this amount in future budgets..
Enrolment
How many more students are you expecting to join the division next year?
Since its inception in 2002, RETSD has never experienced student enrolment growth as it is now. This is unprecedented. For the 2024–25 school year, we are expecting over 500 more students, taking our projected enrolment to 18,769.
Why are we continually accepting newcomers to RETSD schools, and we can’t even put our children in a school of choice, even if it is a better fit for the child based on the specific needs from their disabilities?
Our division is proud to be diverse and welcomes learners from all parts of the world. This diversity adds richness to our schools and community. Any school-aged child who resides in our division becomes a resident pupil and can access education at our schools. This is part of The Public Schools Act.
With an increase to EAL (English as an Additional Language) students, how does the division use funds to support them?
RETSD has enrolled many newcomer students over the last year and a half (almost 1,400 last year and 539 to date this year). The division has a range of supports available to students and schools to help support appropriate educational programming. This support has been enhanced by supplementary funds from Manitoba Education. Supports include sheltered transitional classes, intensive newcomer support classes, divisional EAL specialist teachers who work in classrooms to support teachers, access to EAL/newcomer grant supports for materials and supplies, settlement services, and centralized newcomer enrolment processes. Collectively, these strategies combine to provide the best possible support for students to thrive in both the sheltered transitional classes and in community schools.
Programs & Transportation
Why is it that we provide free resources, such as lunch programs and transportation, to residents of East St. Paul and yet people who live in other areas are expected to pay out of pocket for these?
The school division, under The Public Schools Act, is obligated to transport students who meet the criteria stipulated in The Act (i.e., students who reside in a township without public transportation, students with additional needs). In accordance with this, for students whom the division is obligated to transport, the division provides the parent-run, user-pay lunch supervision program with funds that are the same amount charged to all other students who use the lunch supervision program in that school.
Given evidence indicating the ineffectiveness of Reading Recovery, would it be prudent for our school division to explore reallocating funds towards evidence-based programs aligned with the science of reading, particularly those emphasizing phonics instruction?
We regularly review programs and programming in our division, using data to drive our decisions. Our multi-year data indicates that Reading Recovery is effective. Additionally, there is a broad base of peer-reviewed research that validates this early literacy intervention. Having said that, Reading Recovery is only one tool in our early literacy toolbox. In all early years classrooms, good early literacy instruction, including phonics instruction and phonemic awareness, is provided to all students.
