Within the past week, both the Hanover School Division (HSD) and Seine River School Division (SRSD) released their budget proposals for the 2025–26 school year. As budgets become finalized, so do indications of changes to the education mill rates that affect people’s property taxes.
Thanks to the fact that 2025 is a property assessment year, as well as the promise of additional funding by the provincial government, neither school division will be raising their mill rates.
According to the SRSD trustee board, the mill rate will remain the same as last year at 12.67.
Property owners in the HSD catchment area will actually see a bit of a drop this year, with a mill rate of 12.36, down from last year’s 12.74.
Still, residential and commercial properties will likely be assessed at higher valuations than they were two years ago, last time an assessment took place.
Another school tax development this year is the NDP government’s introduction of the Homeowner’s Affordability Tax Credit (HATC), which is set to replace the School Tax Rebate and Education Property Tax Credit for residential property owners.
The HATC will be applied directly to property tax bills in the fall and provide relief of up to $1,500 on primary residences only.
When considering both the 2025 property assessment along with the HATC, a residential property assessed at $350,000 in either of these school divisions should anticipate their school tax portion to come in under $500.
A home assessed at $450,000 could expect double that amount.
In 2025, farm properties will continue to receive the Manitoba School Tax Rebate, which is maintained at 50 percent. There are no provincial property tax credits or rebates for commercial properties.
HSD Budget Brief
Based on HSD’s new budget announcement, $136.6 million is being allocated for operating and capital expenditures in the new school year. This is up by nearly six percent over last year’s budget.
The province’s promise of an extra 2.2 percent in funding amounts to nearly $72 million in additional wiggle room for HSD.
Priorities for the trustee board during this year’s budget planning included enrollment growth and staffing needs. The budget will provide funding for an additional 12 teachers and 14 educational assistants.
SRSD Budget Brief
From the province this coming year, SRSD is anticipating a boost of 5.7 percent in funding, equalling an extra $41.5 million in their coffers.
Total expenses budgeted for the coming school year add up to approximately $77 million, up 15 percent over the last budget.
With the additional funding, the SRSD board hopes to prioritize staffing to meet student needs while reducing class sizes. As well, they hope to do some operational catch-up after the very difficult budget cuts they’ve undergone over the past 18 months.
Reducing the deficit, though, will remain important as they work through the three-year plan as approved by the province.
The division expects to hire 27 full-time equivalent teaching positions this year, as well as 35 full-time equivalent support staff.
More funding will be allocated toward professional development and technology hardware.
The board will look at eliminating fees for the mandatory band program and instrument purchases, as well as increasing support for school teams and investing in specialized equipment.
Four new buses and two new bus routes will be added, not to mention a variety of investments in school infrastructure.