The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The province's new funding boost to the Flin Flon School Division won't be enough to cover rising costs. The government announced Tuesday that it will increase funding to the division by 1.3 per cent in 2004-05, but Superintendent of Schools Blaine Veitch expects costs to rise in the neighbourhood of three per cent. "I think the shortfall means we will need to look at all areas of the budget to try and balance the books," said Veitch. The province will provide the division with $6,165,000 in 2004-05, an increase of $82,000 over the current school year. On average, the Manitoba government will increase funding to divisions across the province by two per cent. Some divisions may receive three per cent; others, like Flin Flon, just above one per cent. Veitch said a key reason Flin Flon came in below the provincial average related to declining enrollment. "The majority of our funding is based on a per-student basis," he said. "When you have fewer students, the amount of funding goes down." However, the shrinking enrollment is not the only reason, Veitch said, adding that he still has some questions about the increase for the Finance Branch of Manitoba Education. The province currently contributes about 60 per cent of the division's total budget. Back in the early 1980s, that figure was close to 80 per cent. "I don't think the funding we receive from the provincial government is enough to provide the type of education we want for our children," said Veitch. The Flin Flon School Division has held the line well on local tax increases compared to other divisions across the province. From 1992 to 2002, the municipal tax increases sought by the division averaged 3.11 per cent, substantially less than the provincial average of 6.19 per cent. The increase last year of 3.25 per cent was also considered fair given increases in other parts of the province. Some divisions sought increases as high as 10 per cent.
