Pembina Trails finalizes $196-M budget

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This article was published 10/03/2022 (1022 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Pembina Trails School Division has finalized a budget for the upcoming school year that will maintain current class sizes and increase its employee roster in preparation for the opening of two new schools in 2023.

The board of trustees in the division, which has a student population of approximately 15,400 across 35 schools, approved a $196-million budget for 2022-23 during a public meeting late Thursday.

“We heard clearly that upholding our core purposes and front-line services — especially class size and literacy — should continue to be our top priority,” Kathleen McMillan, chairwoman of the board, said in a news release Friday.

The southwest Winnipeg division has earmarked funds for 8.6 new full-time equivalent staff members and pre-kindergarten summer programming for the upcoming academic year.

The new positions include several literacy support staff for early years schools and principals for both Bison Run School and Pembina Trails Collegiate — learning facilities at a site in Waverley West slated to open in January and September 2023, respectively.

Since the elementary school in what will soon become home to the Bison Run development is opening early next year, the division has also allocated funds to hire teaching staff in the K-8 building.

The division indicated in its Friday release an arbitration award for its teachers — a February 2021 ruling that disregarded the Tory government’s now-defunct public-sector wage freeze legislation, and has resulted in hefty salary back-pay tabs across Manitoba — continues to impact its financial planning.

COVID-19 expenses and rising inflation have also contributed to budgeting challenges across the province this year.

The province has provided all boards with one-time grants to address ongoing salary settlement pressures, pandemic costs, and its continued freezing of property education taxes at 2020 levels.