In early March, the Board of Trustees for the Hanover School Division approved its 2016–17 budget. The estimated operating expenses total $83.6 million dollars.
The budget includes funding for new teachers, learning coaches, and resource personnel; new transportation safety initiatives (bus surveillance camera, GPS fleet tracking, and a student-passenger tracking system); and improved access to learning technology.
“Hanover School Division continues to be a very efficient school division,” says Rick Peters, Board Finance Chair. “Although the 2016–17 budget represents a 4.28 percent increase in expenditures, which is up $3.5 million dollars over last year, HSD has the lowest cost-per-student average in the province of Manitoba… When compared to other school divisions, HSD local taxation, as a percentage of total revenue, is below the Manitoba provincial average, as are administration expenses which are amongst the lowest in the province.”
The provincial government is anticipated to provide $51.5 million in funding, 60 percent of the division’s operating revenue. The remaining 40 percent is obtained through education taxes. Though the mill rate will decrease this year from 16.02 percent to 14.92 percent, due to property assessments, the education tax levy will increase by 2.24 percent.
“Trustees were very mindful of the budgetary impact on local taxation, and worked hard to find cost savings, balancing the educational needs of our students with divisional growth,” Peters says. “The Board of Trustees also recognizes that while tax increases are sometimes needed to maintain a high quality of education, annual marginal tax increases will have less budgetary impact on taxpayers than a large tax increase followed by a temporary freeze. Spreading the required cost over time, evenly and marginally, reflects a recognition of household budget pressures.”
