Winnipeg Free Press

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ANNIVERSARY SALE Plus **See below for details. ONE YEAR NO INTEREST & NO PAYMENTS FINANCING ** STORWIDE * 20 % -50 % SAVE 2 Colours Available (includes 2 end reclining units, 2 armless units & 1 corner unit) Now Only $ 8,199 Stock Only Now Only $ 8,299 Stock Only Now Only $ 2,199 Now Only $ 2,499 Now Only $ 2,799 Now Only $ 3,699 Grey Colour Only 2 Colours Available Brown Colour Only Grey Colour Only WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ● A13 NEWS I LOCAL SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 2025 T HE Louis Riel School Division’s latest budget prioritizes install- ing new air conditioning systems, piloting a water safety program and hiring an Indigenous elder to support students and staff. During the 100-minute board meet- ing on Thursday, senior administrators provided a detailed breakdown of pro- jected expenses and revenue for 2025- 26. Their $274-million plan hinges on a 6.4 per cent hike in the local levy. LRSD received $117 million in provin- cial funding, a sum that includes specif- ic dollars for school meal programs — a year-over-year increase of 2.5 per cent. Secretary-treasurer Jamie Rudnicki went out of his way to make a disclosure before he described the division’s up- coming contract obligations and other workforce expenses. “We are very fortunate in our prov- ince and in our country (related to) how we see education and how important it is and so, we are very grateful for all our staff, teaching and non-teaching,” Rudnicki said. “So when I say ‘cost,’ to me, I look at it as investment.” Staffing remains, by far, the largest line item, accounting for 83 per cent of the budget. The board plans to add 45 full-time equivalent teachers and 32 other em- ployees to address enrolment growth and staff a new school. The latter group includes 18 educational assistants, an Indigenous elder on the senior leader- ship team and a handful of custodians. In order to foot that growing tab and fund other initiatives, LRSD has tabled a tax increase that would result in a typ- ical homeowner paying $193 more in school taxes on an annual basis. The average residence in St. Boni- face, St. Vital and surrounding com- munities is valued at $422,500. The proposal was informed by 1,304 people who participated in an online survey. Respondents identified small class sizes, EAs in schools, infrastructure up- grades and swimming lessons — Ward 3 trustee Ryan Palmquist has been rally- ing residents to support a water safety initiative in recent months — as the most pressing matters to them. Superintendent Christian Michalik said the findings highlight concerns about differences across facilities in LRSD that serve upwards of 17,000 stu- dents. “If you happen to live in a new neigh- bourhood, you’re going to enjoy a brand- new school, but if you live in any other neighbourhood, your school is getting older by the day and we need to look af- ter it,” Michalik told the board room. A total of $1.2 million has been ear- marked for infrastructure and main- tenance projects. That commitment will kick off a six-year plan to retrofit the 10 remaining schools in LRSD that don’t have air conditioning, per the draft budget. The phased-in project is slated to begin with an initial allotment of $630,000 in 2025-26. The board has mapped out future annual injections with a goal of completing it in 2031 for roughly $4.4 million. LRSD is also gearing up to give Grade 3 and 4 students a chance to learn to swim during school hours. The $100,000 initiative is anticipated to involve col- laboration with the City of Winnipeg to find pool space and instructors. The Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council and Lifesaving Society Mani- toba are among the entities that have endorsed the action to equip students with water-safety skills. Among other budget highlights, LRSD is earmarking specific dollars to address cybersecurity, topping up funding for industrial arts and human ecology departments and expanding its internal community schools network. Michalik spoke at length about one particular “revenue-neutral and ex- penditure-neutral” item that he dis- cussed with board members during their budget considerations this year. The superintendent noted there are discussions about the development of a before-and-after school child care sys- tem in the division. “The solution is this: before the bell rings in the morning, the spaces kids occupy after that bell rings has to wel- come in kids and (vice versa) at the end of the day,” he said, adding he is keen to find a way to provide extra morning and evening supervision on-site. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca Louis Riel division priorities include elder, water safety, AC Proposes 6.4% tax hike in $274-M budget MAGGIE MACINTOSH LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER ST. JAMES school trustees want to hike local property taxes 4.7 per cent to standardize school fees, hire more teachers — 10 of whom would strictly cover absences during peak respiratory-illness season — and run Michif language lessons. The St. James-Assiniboia School Division hosted its an- nual draft budget town hall at its headquarters at 2575 Portage Ave. on Thursday night. Starting in 2025-26, administration is proposing univer- sal school supply fees of $50 for elementary students and $30 for middle years learners. If the financial plan is approved as is, half-day kinder- garten students would be charged $35 to cover the cost of pencils, crafts and related learning materials. Superintendent Jenness Moffatt described the $142-mil- lion draft budget as “status quo — plus a little more.” It accounts for the addition of 24 educational assistants and up to 10 teachers, should any site in the division be faced with unexpected enrolment growth over the course of the coming school year. The blueprint reinstates an assistant superintend- ent role that was axed when the former PC government directed divisions to shrink management in 2020 to pre- pare for mass amalgamations that never came. It also accounts for 10 supply teachers from December to April, a period during which “fail-to-fills” happen more frequently than during the rest of the year, said Holly Hunter, chair of the board of trustees responsible for 26 schools in west Winnipeg. Fail-to-fills occur when a teacher is absent and there is no substitute available to replace them. Hunter said the smallest of area schools, which have fewer auxiliary staff than their counterparts, grapple with coverage when employees call in sick. A community member proposed there be a team of floating teachers to address related challenges at a first- of-its-kind public budget consultation event held at Col- lège Sturgeon Heights Collegiate in October. “Itinerant staff positions are a strong investment in the well-being of staff as it supports the daily operation in our schools,” added Hunter, a board member who has repre- sented families in the east ward since 2018. The school division’s provincial funding allotment, which includes money for meal programs, is increasing two per cent. Trustees are considering a nearly five per cent hike in the local levy to offset the shortfall stemming from aging infrastructure costs and new hires and programs. Under the proposal, a family that owns a typical house in the division valued at $330,300 would pay about $7 ex- tra per month or $84 annually. That sum does not include the Manitoba government’s new $1,500 flat rate tax cred- it. One of the new initiatives for next year involves part- nering with the Manitoba Métis Federation to establish a group of teachers who are interested in learning Michif and exposing their students to it. The superintendent’s goal is to tap teachers from each of the division’s kindergarten-to-Grade 12 schools to join its Let’s Speak Michif program. The division wants to hire a proficient speaker to help train those volunteers and start a kindergarten-rolling co- hort of students who will study Michif “in a holistic way” that involves land-based learning, she said. About one in five students identify as Indigenous in the division. About 45 per cent of those children and youth are Métis, Moffatt said, adding those figures are at the heart of the project. Other highlights include new salaries for one grant writer, an information technology specialist — a bid to bolster cybersecurity — and a single speech-language pathologist. Tara Smith, vice-chair of the board, spoke about how more students have been showing up to school with addi- tional needs, from school-preparedness challenges to mental health concerns, over the last three years. There’s been a threefold increase in the number of stu- dents with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis while more young adults with disabilities are remaining in school until age 21, per internal statistics. Smith said the board’s investment in an additional clin- ician and new EAs aims to increase student engagement, reduce anxiety and frustration and create a safer learn- ing environment overall. maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca St. James division proposing 4.7% tax hike for more teachers, new programs MAGGIE MACINTOSH LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER ;