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.
A new independent analysis reflects well on the Flin Flon School Board's fiscal management. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has released a report comparing funding and spending levels of all Manitoba school divisions. It shows Flin Flon has the lowest spending increases in Manitoba over the last 11 years and among the lowest rises in property-tax-derived revenue over the last three years. 'I thought we looked fairly favourable,' Trustee Glenn Smith said of the 19-page report. Added Trustee Tim Davis: 'We did really good.' The report shows that between 2002-03 and 2012-13, Flin Flon lost 29.8 per cent of its student population, the most in Manitoba. During the same period, operating expenses went up 17.4 per cent, the lowest in the province. Prairie Spirit School Division, in southcentral Manitoba, was a close second at 17.7 per cent. Both Prairie Spirit and Flin Flon were far below the nearly 30 per cent spending hike reported by third-place Turtle Mountain School Division in southwestern Manitoba. See 'Result' on pg. Continued from pg. Between 2010 and 2012, the report notes, Flin Flon generated a (non-cumulative) increase of 5.4 per cent in revenue from property taxes, the fifth-lowest during that time. The 5.4 per cent increase was strictly the result of rising property values, as Flin Flon school taxes have not gone up since 2007 thanks to increased provincial funding. Among the divisions that have kept tax hikes minimal, the report says none _ 'with the exception of Flin Flon' _ have done so through 'commendable spending restraint.' However, the report adds: 'Some divisions were eligible for mining revenue which may explain why their taxes were not increased as significantly (e.g. Flin Flon).' Frontier School Division, which covers Cranberry Portage and most of northern Manitoba, had the province's highest per-pupil costs at $17,526. In that category, Flin Flon was in neither the top five nor the bottom five. Ben Kolisnyk, a policy analyst with CFIB, forwarded a copy of the report to trustees, who spoke on it at their meeting Tuesday. In an accompanying e-mail, Kolisnyk stressed the report was not meant to assess the quality of education or determine 'the appropriate level of education funding.' Rather it was meant to examine 'how unfairly commercial property owners are treated compared to residential property owners to fund education.' The report determined that Kelsey School Division in The Pas is most fair to businesses, while Evergreen School Division, in the Interlake region, is the least fair. Flin Flon was not listed among the five best or five worst school divisions in terms of fairness to businesses.A new independent analysis reflects well on the Flin Flon School Board's fiscal management. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has released a report comparing funding and spending levels of all Manitoba school divisions. It shows Flin Flon has the lowest spending increases in Manitoba over the last 11 years and among the lowest rises in property-tax-derived revenue over the last three years. 'I thought we looked fairly favourable,' Trustee Glenn Smith said of the 19-page report. Added Trustee Tim Davis: 'We did really good.' The report shows that between 2002-03 and 2012-13, Flin Flon lost 29.8 per cent of its student population, the most in Manitoba. During the same period, operating expenses went up 17.4 per cent, the lowest in the province. Prairie Spirit School Division, in southcentral Manitoba, was a close second at 17.7 per cent. Both Prairie Spirit and Flin Flon were far below the nearly 30 per cent spending hike reported by third-place Turtle Mountain School Division in southwestern Manitoba. See 'Result' on pg. Continued from pg. Between 2010 and 2012, the report notes, Flin Flon generated a (non-cumulative) increase of 5.4 per cent in revenue from property taxes, the fifth-lowest during that time. The 5.4 per cent increase was strictly the result of rising property values, as Flin Flon school taxes have not gone up since 2007 thanks to increased provincial funding. Among the divisions that have kept tax hikes minimal, the report says none _ 'with the exception of Flin Flon' _ have done so through 'commendable spending restraint.' However, the report adds: 'Some divisions were eligible for mining revenue which may explain why their taxes were not increased as significantly (e.g. Flin Flon).' Frontier School Division, which covers Cranberry Portage and most of northern Manitoba, had the province's highest per-pupil costs at $17,526. In that category, Flin Flon was in neither the top five nor the bottom five. Ben Kolisnyk, a policy analyst with CFIB, forwarded a copy of the report to trustees, who spoke on it at their meeting Tuesday. In an accompanying e-mail, Kolisnyk stressed the report was not meant to assess the quality of education or determine 'the appropriate level of education funding.' Rather it was meant to examine 'how unfairly commercial property owners are treated compared to residential property owners to fund education.' The report determined that Kelsey School Division in The Pas is most fair to businesses, while Evergreen School Division, in the Interlake region, is the least fair. Flin Flon was not listed among the five best or five worst school divisions in terms of fairness to businesses.
