FRANCAIS

January 27, 2003

Strobe lights to improve school bus safety and new early years programming are among the highlights of the provincial government's annual funding announcement for public schools in Manitoba.

Education and Youth Minister Ron Lemieux announced today:

• There will be $23.8 million in new funding for public schools, a 2.8 per cent increase for 2003-04.
• The 2.8 per cent increase is the fourth consecutive year the province has met its commitment to fund public schools at or above the rate of economic growth.
• Support per pupil has increased 11.4 per cent since 1999, compared to an increase of 5.3 per cent from 1995 to 1999.
• The additional $23.8 million in provincial funding builds on existing provincial support for public education. In 2002-03, total provincial government support for public education was $1.1275 billion or 73.4 per cent of the cost of the public schools system.

"Today's announcement emphasizes that education continues to be a top priority for our government. We are providing significant new funding for the province's education system while continuing to provide stable funding for school divisions," Lemieux said.

"Over the last four years, our government has invested $87.3 million in new funding in the public education system. This is a significant contribution to Manitoba’s education system and compares quite favorably to the $15.2 million invested from 1995 to 1999."

Today's announcement includes significant new initiatives:

• $300,000 for strobe lights to improve the safety of school buses;
• a new $1 million Class Size Fund to support divisions where class size and composition are a concern, particularly in situations with high special needs and at-risk youth;
• an additional $5.6 million for special needs programming;
• a new $900,000 early numeracy grant to assist divisions in the implementation of strategies designed to improve the mathematical skills of students in K to Grade 4; and
• an additional $130,000 for early childhood development;

Lemieux said the Class Size Fund is the first step in a multi-year plan designed to support divisions in evaluating the effectiveness of smaller class sizes. The fund will be made available to school divisions with Kindergarten to Grade 4 schools that have a high number of special needs and at-risk students.

"The Class Size and Composition Final Report indicated the vast majority of class sizes in Manitoba are of reasonable size," said Lemieux. "However, the report does note that academic improvements can be achieved with smaller class sizes at the primary levels. This approach complements initiatives such as Healthy Child Manitoba and our government's overall commitment to early years education and early childhood development."

Lemieux also unveiled another new initiative that will provide additional assistance to school divisions experiencing a declining enrolment. "Over the last number of years, many Manitoba school divisions, especially in rural Manitoba, have been experiencing a decline in enrolment. The new grant will provide $2.5 million in additional support to these divisions as they adjust to declining enrolment levels."

The minister noted that this year's announcement is in addition to ongoing efforts to provide meaningful property tax relief including saving Manitoba homeowners:

• $10 million by reducing the Education Support Levy (ESL) by 10 per cent in 2002, the first step in a five-year phase out of the ESL on residential property; and
• $53 million annually by increasing the Manitoba Property Tax Credit by $150 to $400.

"Our government is committed to providing a stable level of funding to the province's public education system while providing meaningful tax relief to Manitoba homeowners. We believe that this approach ensures sustainability and an affordable public education system."

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Funding Announcements to Public Schools Chart

2003/04 EDUCATION FUNDING

ANNOUNCEMENT

Highlights

• $23.8 million in new funding for public schools—a 2.8 per cent increase for 2003/04.
• The 2.8 per cent increase is the fourth consecutive year the province has met its commitment to fund public schools at or above the rate of economic growth.
• Support per pupil has increased 11.4 per cent since 1999, compared to an increase of 5.3 per cent from 1995 to 1999.
• The additional $23.8 million in provincial funding builds on existing provincial support for public education. In 2002/03 total provincial government support for public education was $1127.5 billion or 73.4 per cent of the cost of the public schools system.

Major Initiatives

• $300,000 for strobe lights to improve the safety of school buses;
• a new $1 million Class Size Fund to support divisions to undertake pilot projects where class size and composition are a concern, particularly in situations with high special needs and at-risk youth;
• an additional $5.6 million for special needs programming;
• a new $900,000 early numeracy grant to assist divisions in the implementation of strategies designed to improve the mathematical skills of students in K to Grade 4;
• an additional $130,000 for early childhood development;
• a new $2.5 million declining enrolment grant to provide additional assistance to school divisions experiencing declining enrolments;
• an additional $1.9 million to provide targeted equalization funding for school divisions that have both lower than average property assessment per pupil and higher than average tax effort; and
• $1.8 million to guaranty that amalgamated school divisions are not negatively affected through the funding formula as a result of amalgamation.