Holy Trinity Catholic School Division Funding, enrolment to likely decrease next year for Holy Trinity

Funding for Holy Trinity Catholic School Division is expected to decrease by $80,011 next year, and student enrolment is also projected to drop by 90 youths. According to a board report, the Ministry of Education plans to give the school division $24,616,370 in grant funding for the 2021-22 school year, down from $24,696,381 this year or 0.3 per cent. Holy Trinity’s enrolment of pre-kindergarten to Grade 12 students is expected to decrease to 2,205.25 full-time equivalent (FTE) pupils from 2,279.50 FTE pupils, a drop of 90 students or 3.3 per cent. The division’s funding change ranks 19th out of 27 school divisions, while its enrolment decrease ranks 23rd.

The funding was announced as part of the provincial budget in early April.

In the budget, the Saskatchewan government increased funding for pre-kindergarten to Grade 12 education to $1.96 billion from 1.941 billion, an increase of $19.2 million or 0.99 per cent, a board report said. However, the increase primarily addressed the 2021-22 financial commitment to cover the collective bargaining agreement with the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation.

Holy Trinity is comfortable with the approved funding for next year, said education director Sean Chase. The pandemic has put a strain on everyone, so the division believes it can operate with the money it receives for 2021-22. There is no surplus to enhance education, but division administration believes it will bring a balanced budget to the board in June. The hope would be for more students to attend so that the ministry would provide more funding.

“As it sits right now, based upon students that we anticipate, we feel comfortable that that $80,000 change is not going to hamstring us in any way,” added Chase. Education property taxes

Holy Trinity Catholic School Division expects to receive more than $4 million next year in education property taxes after the board decided to exercise its constitutional right to levy mill rates.

The division’s board of trustees passed a bylaw in 2018 informing the Ministry of Education that it would exercise its right to levy education property taxes and set the mill rates. The ministry then confirmed that the bylaw was valid and remained in effect until repealed or replaced, a board report explained.

The board is now required to annually pass a resolution by April 20 to set the mill rates for education property taxes. Once set, the division must notify the ministry and area municipalities about the changes by May 1.

During the 2019-20 school year, Holy Trinity collected $4,032,692 in taxes and used it for general operations. The division expects to collect a similar amount for this school year.

The Saskatchewan government does set the provincial mill rate for agricultural, residential, commercial/industrial and resource properties, but school boards can pass their own bylaws, said Chase. Typically, Holy Trinity follows what the province sets and ensures its mill rates align. In its April 6 budget, the province set the 2021 mill rates at 1.43 mills for agriculture, 4.46 mills for residential, 6.75 mills for commercial/industrial, and 9.79 mills for resource properties.

The ministry adjusts how much grant funding Holy Trinity receives based on the property tax it collects, said Chase. Since the division received over $4 million last year, that is how much the ministry clawed back.

The division is building the 2021-22 budget using a similar financial figure, he added. The board will pass the budget in June.