Manitoba announces school funding hike, but divisions say they’re still facing significant financial pressure
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Manitoba schools are getting an overall 3.5 per cent raise in funding from the province in the coming school year.
Education Minister Tracy Schmidt announced $79.8 million in new funding for the 2026-27 school year with $51 million of the total amount going toward operating costs, the province said.
The funding varies for each school division, based partly on enrolment. The amount includes $11.4 million in grants to support divisions most impacted by teacher salary harmonization.
“Harmonization does not impact all school divisions equally. So while this was a significant pressure for many school divisions, it was not the only pressure facing school divisions,” Schmidt said during an event at Earl Grey School in Winnipeg.
A collective agreement setting the standardized wage scale was struck in 2024. It would typically benefit rural divisions, which have lower salaries. The scale comes into effect in the next school year.
Schmidt said the overall funding increase is above the rate of inflation.
Statistics Canada says Manitoba had a 2.7 per cent inflation rate on an annual basis in 2025, but the agency’s latest snapshot shows that prices were 3.7 per cent higher in the province this past December compared to the same month in 2024.
Lillian Klausen, president of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society, said she’s “a little bit disappointed” with the announcement.
“We were hoping that the funding increase would be above inflation in a way that we can start backfilling some of the big funding gaps that we have seen over the last number of years when we’ve had cuts to education,” Klausen said.
“It certainly doesn’t do anything to backfill some of the big needs that we have in our classrooms today,” she said.
The teachers’ society said the province’s schools are dealing with chronic underfunding as teachers deal with larger and more complex classrooms.
Jamie Rudnicki, chief financial officer at Winnipeg’s Louis Riel School Division, said financial pressure is “constant.”
The division is expecting a $4.3 million boost from the province in 2026-27. Rudnicki said salaries and benefits alone at LRDS have increased by about $12 million.
The division raised the mill rate used to calculate property taxes within its catchment area by 6.43 per cent last year, but still began 2026 with a $2.4 million deficit.
“We’re going to go through our budget in a lot of detail and assess where we need to expand and where we could reduce budgets even further to have a lesser impact on the rate holder,” Rudnicki said.
Budget still under pressure: superintendent
Schmidt said the Brandon School Division is among the divisions that will receive the harmonization grant.
The Brandon School Division previously warned its provincial funding would have to double to keep a commitment to increase the property tax rate by 4.54 per cent.
The division is expected to see one of the highest bumps in operating cost funding at 6.4 per cent, a $5 million change according to a table provided by the province.
Superintendent Mathew Gustafson said salary increases for current staff alone will cost the division $6.8 million.
“We know that that increase in funding won’t address all of the budgetary pressures, but the additional support from the province is greatly appreciated,” he said.
“Enrolment [has increased] over the last decade, but especially since the last five years have been significant. And so that has created other pressures for us.”
Winnipeg School Division superintendent Matt Henderson said Monday it’s resulted in “significant wage pressure” for his division.
Matt Henderson, superintendent of the Winnipeg School Division, says the schools are facing wage pressures. (Trevor Brine/CBC)
“We will see how that $11 million shapes out for us in helping us support that,” he said, adding the division would need a 5 per cent budget increase to pay for the salary increases.
The division’s funding for operating costs is expected to go up by 3.8 per cent, or $9.2 million.
“The minister said today, ‘We can do anything, but we can’t do everything,'” Henderson said. “I always tell people, ‘Show me your budget and you’ll show me your values.'”
Progressive Conservative MLA Wayne Ewasko, the education critic for the Official Opposition, said in a statement Manitobans should brace for “significant” increases to school property taxes.
He said funding for school operating costs only actually went up by 2.9 per cent, and that the increase is lower than the $53.1 million boost from last school year.
WATCH | NDP government announces school funding for 2026-27:
NDP government announces school funding for 2026-27
Education Minister Tracy Schmidt says schools are getting an operation funding increase of 2.9%, but some divisions say the funding won’t cover increasing costs.
