FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY

P OLICY S ERIES No. 219 / OCTOBER 2018

NEVER ENOUGH The Increasing Cost of Public Education in and How to Curb it

BY ROD CLIFTON AND ALEXANDRA BURNETT

FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY

I deas that change your world / www.fcpp.org I 1 FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY

ROD CLIFTON

Rodney A. Clifton, B.Ed., M.Ed. (Alberta) Ph.D. (Toronto), and Fil.Dr. (Stockholm), is the Publications Editor and Senior Fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. He is also a professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba and a retired fellow at St. John’s College. His most recent book, What’s Wrong with Our Schools and How We Can Fix Them, was published in 2010 and was written with Michael Zwaagstra and John Long.

ALEXANDRA BURNETT Alexandra Burnett, B.A., B.A. (Regina) is a Junior Research Associate at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY

203-2727 Portage Avenue, , Manitoba Canada R3J 0R2 Tel: 204-957-1567 Email: [email protected]

The Frontier Centre for Public Policy is an independent, non-profit organization that undertakes research and education in support of economic growth and social outcomes that will enhance the quality of life in our communities. Through a variety of publications and public forums, Frontier explores policy innovations required to make the prairie region a winner in the open economy. It also provides new insights into solving important issues facing our cities, towns and provinces. These include improving the performance of public expenditures in important areas such as local government, education, health and social policy. The author(s) of this study have worked independently and the opinions expressed are therefore their own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the board of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

Copyright © 2018 by the Frontier Centre for Public Policy.

Policy Series No. 219 • Date of First Issue: October 2018.

Reproduced here with permission of the author(s). Any errors or omissions and the accuracy and completeness of this paper remain the responsibility of the author(s).

ISSN 1491-78

Frontier Centre for Public Policy expresses its appreciation and thanks to the Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation for supporting for this project. I deas that change your world / www.fcpp.org 2 FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY

P OLICY S ERIES No. 219 / OCTOBER 2018

NEVER ENOUGH The Increasing Cost of Public Education in Manitoba and How to Curb it

BY ROD CLIFTON AND ALEXANDRA BURNETT

Acknowledgement We thank Edwin Buettner, John Long, Hymie Rubenstein, and Michael Zwaagstra for carefully reading this report and providing corrections and suggestions. Even so, we are responsible for the remaining errors.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary 4 Introduction 5 The Data 7 Results 8 Tables and Charts 11 Endnotes 16 Bibliography 16

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

• From 2002-03 to 2016-17, a fourteen year period, the cost of public education on a per student basis increased by over 70 percent and the CPI increased by less than 35 percent. At the same time, public school enrollment dropped by 1.8 percent while the number of educators increased by 11.0 percent.

• To pay for the increase in educators, public school boards in Manitoba increased their taxes on property by much more than the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

• The largest per student increase was in Frontier School Division at $8,427 and the smallest increase was in Beautiful Plains School Division at $3,931.

• In 2016-17, the most expensive education was in Frontier School Division at $20,305 per student, and the least expensive was in Garden Valley School Division at $10,520 per student.

• If public education expenditures per student had increased at the same rate as the CPI, the saving would have been $873-million for the province in 2016-17 alone, with savings of about $6.1-billion over the 14-year period.

• Public education expenditures cannot continue to increase at a rate that far exceeds the CPI without crowding out other necessary expenditures, increasing the provincial debt, and burdening taxpayers with ever-increasing provincial and school board taxes.

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INTRODUCTION

On August 1, 2018, Manitoba’s Premier, Brian taxes on property owners.5 In response, the Pallister, shuffled his cabinet, and appointed previous Minister of Education, , said: as Minister of Education. Since “It’s liveable. It’s not what we had hoped.”6 The the beginning of the PCs time in power in 2016, new Minister of Education will likely take a stronger Mr. Goertzen was Minister of Health, cutting and stand with the school boards. streamlining to get the runaway health costs under control. Now he is responsible for bringing the rising Not surprisingly, taxpayers across the country have cost of public education under control. Manitoba is heard that schools need significantly more money the only province that still permits school boards to deliver educational programs, and if budgets are to tax property owners to fund public schools,1 and constrained, students will suffer. Taxpayers, and Minister Goertzen has obviously heard the cries of especially parents of school-aged children, seem despair from school board officials when they have ready to accept the claim that public schools are been formulating their budgets. They continually underfunded. But, in summarizing the research on cry “there is never enough for all the good things educational funding in North America, education we need to do.” researcher Jay Greene says: “If people know anything about public schools, it’s that they are A couple of years ago, for example, the Winnipeg strapped for cash and would perform significantly School Division (WSD), the largest division in the better if only they had more money.”7 William province proposed to increase property taxes by Baumol calls the exponential growth in expenditures 6.4 percent. Board chair claimed that on public education “the cost disease.”8 if the school trustees did not approve the budget, the Division would need to cut teachers’ jobs and In 2014, a report by the Frontier Centre for Public programs. Such cuts “would destroy the division Policy showed that the cost disease infected public 9 from within.”2 At the time, the proposed increase education across the country. But there was was more than eight times the increase in the considerable variability across the provinces and Consumer Price Index (CPI), which was about 0.5 territories, and jurisdictions that spent more money percent for that year.3 did not have higher educational achievement than jurisdictions that spent less. The rising cost A week later, the trustees approved a 5.89 percent for Manitoba was in the middle of the twelve increase in property taxes, only half a percent below jurisdictions. Between 1999-00 and 2010-11, the the budget that was proposed. Mr. Wasyliw continued cost of educating the average student in Manitoba his defiant claims: “We have no control over the increased by 77.4 percent while the CPI increased province underfunding Winnipeg School Division. by 25.5 percent, or more than three times the CPI. This certainly isn’t the budget I’d planned on passing this year—it is a product of the external pressures on Recently, the CD Howe Institute has reported on the Winnipeg School Division.” The chair of the division’s performances of Canadian students on the Program Finance Committee, Chris Broughton, echoed the for International Student Assessment (PISA). Chairman’s sentiment: “Winnipeg School Division Manitoba students had mediocre results in reading, does not have a spending problem, it has a funding math, and science. Moreover, the PISA scores problem.”4 He meant that the provincial government have declined over the last few years, and are now did not provide enough money for the board to run below the OECD average. Over the same period, the system to serve all the students’ needs. the cost of public education has increased. The CD Howe Institute correctly says: “it is misleading to Ever since the election in 2016, the PC government label their [Manitoba and Saskatchewan] education has focused on reducing public spending. At the system as fairing well.”10 same time, the school boards have been raising

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It is not sustainable to have the cost of education This study may help Minister Goertzen because we consistently increasing faster than the CPI without assess the cost of public education in Manitoba from crowding out other necessary expenditures, 2002-03 to 2016-17, and we show the differences increasing the provincial debt, and burdening in per student costs in 36 of the 38 school divisions. taxpayers with ever-increasing taxes.11 Sooner or The study reveals that the cost of public education later, the increasing cost of education will need to varies across the divisions and has increased be slowed to a rate that is, at most, on par with between two and four times the growth in the CPI. the rate of economic growth. Of course Minister Finally, the study suggests ways of reducing the Goertzen will try to constrain the rising costs of expenditures. public education over the next two years. The school boards and the Manitoba Teachers Society are likely to put up a good fight to keep the money flowing.

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THE DATA

The data for this study comes from the Financial Student-Educator Ratios Reporting and Accounting in Manitoba Education (FRAME) reports from 2002-03 to 2016-17 (the A definition of student-educator ratio is included in 13 most recent data that are available). The FRAME the FRAME reports. Educators include teachers, reports are produced by the Schools’ Finance school administrators, and pedagogical support Branch of the Ministry of Education, and the data staff. Teachers are involved in direct instruction, have been collected in the same manner for each and school administrators are involved in the direct school division in each year.12 management of schools as principals and vice- principals. Pedagogical support personnel, such as Division guidance counsellors, librarians, and educational media specialists, are also educators, but teachers’ In July 2002, the government of Manitoba aides, health and social support personnel, and restructured the existing 54 school divisions into higher-level managers, such as superintendents, 38 divisions. Thirty-six of these jurisdictions are secretary-treasurers, are not considered to be included in this study; Pine Falls and Whiteshell, educators. The Schools’ Finance Branch calculates are very small divisions, and are included in the the student-educator ratios by dividing the number provincial trends but not in the divisional trends. of FTE students by the number of FTE educators. Similarly, the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology is included in the provincial trends but Expenditures not in the divisional trends. Consequently, there are slight differences in some calculations from the The FRAME reports provide a definition of oper- 14 provincial and divisional data. ational expenditures. Expenditures represent the total expenses for each school division minus funds Full-time Equivalent Enrollment (FTE) that have been transferred to other school divisions, organizations, and individuals. The expenses include The FTE enrollment is the number of full-time regular instruction, student support services, students plus the part-time students according divisional administration, transportation, school to the fraction of the school year in which they maintenance, and a few ancillary expenses. were registered. Students enrolled in kindergarten programs for half a day over a 10-month school Expenditure per Student year were counted as 0.5 FTEs. Likewise, full-time students in Grades 1 to 12 who were enrolled for Finally, the Schools’ Finance Branch calculates the only 2 months in a specific school were counted expenditure per student by dividing the operating as 0.2 FTEs, and if they transferred to schools in expenditures by the FTE student enrollment in each another division for the remaining 8 months, they division. were counted as 0.8 FTEs in that division.

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RESULTS Divisional Trends

Provincial Trends Table 3 reports data for the 36 of the 38 school divisions for the 2002-03 school year. The first Table 1 reports the number of FTE students column shows that there is one very large division, enrolled in Manitoba public schools, the operational Winnipeg School Division, with more than 30,000 expenditures, and the expenditures per FTE student students, and one very small division, Turtle River from 2002-03 to 2016-17. Over this fourteen- School Division, with fewer than 1,000 students. year period, the number of students decreased Column 2 reports the student-educator ratios, from 179,154.5 to 176,037.4, a decrease of which range from 17.9 in Hanover to 12.4 in the 3,117.1 students, or 1.7 percent. The operational DSFM (Division Scolaire Franco-Manitobaine) with expenditures increased from $1,331,481,751 an average of 14.8 students per educator. Column 3 to $2,256,805,467, an increase of over $925 reports the expenditures, which range from almost million. Column 4 shows that over the 14 years, $245.4-million for the Winnipeg School Division the expenditures per FTE student increased by 70 to slightly over $6.5-million for Turtle River. Total percent, and Column 5 shows that the CPI increased expenditures across the province were slightly more by about 34 percent.15 During the 14 years, the than $1.33-billion. The expenditure per student is average per student expenditures increased from reported in column 4 and ranges from the most $7,432 to $12,820, which represents a rate that is expensive division, Frontier at $11,878, to the over 2 times the increase in the CPI. least expensive, Hanover at $5,444. The average expenditure per student was $7,432. Thus, Hanover Table 2 reports the savings that would have was almost $2,000 below average, and Frontier was accrued over the 14-year period if the increase in more than $4,000 above average. expenditures were at the level of the CPI. In 2002- 03, there were no savings; in 2003-04, the spending Table 4 reports similar data for the 2016-17 school on public education was $2,501,910 less than it year. As before, the Winnipeg School Division is the would have been if the increase were at the rate largest jurisdiction with slightly less than 30,000 of the CPI. From then on, however, there would students, and Turtle River is the smallest, with less have been increasing savings if the amount spent than 700 students. The average student-educator on education was set at the increase in the CPI. For ratio was 13.1, which is 1.7 students, or more than example, in 2004-05, the potential saving would 11 percent, lower than in 2002-03. Thus, from have been $51,886,088, and only one year later the 2002-03, the number of educators increased by potential saving would have been $106,664,205. In 1,333, or 11 percent, while the number of students fact, the potential savings rise at an exponential rate decreased by 3,118, or 1.7 percent. In 2016-17, reaching $855,348,459 in 2015-16, and then drops Garden Valley has the highest educator-student slightly as a percentage, to $873,383,716 in 2016- ratio at 15.0; Hanover has the second highest 17. Over the 14-year period, the total savings would ratio at 14.4, and Pine Creek has the lowest ratio have been more than $6.1-billion. at 11.0. The total expenditures increased to about $2.25-billion, representing about 70 percent These data illustrate that capping the increases in increase. The average expenditure per students was operating expenditures in education at increases in $12,820, and Hanover was more than $2,000 below the CPI could, over time, save Manitoba taxpayers a average while Frontier, the highest cost division, substantial amount of money. The data are for the was more than $7,000 above average. province as a whole, and previous analyses have shown that there was considerable variability in the Table 5 reports the increase in expenditure per operating expenditures across school divisions.16 An student in each of the 36 school divisions over the examination of the divisional trends suggests that 14-year period. The increases ranged from a low of even more savings are possible. 57.1 percent in Beautiful Plains to a high of 108.2

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percent in Flin Flon. The increase was 61.4 percent fourteen years, the provincial saving would have in DSFM, 97.5 percent in Hanover, and 60.3 percent totaled over $6.1-billion. Rethinking the funding of in . In comparison, the average per public education in Manitoba is overdue. student increase for all the school divisions was 79.6 percent, and the CPI increased by 33.8 percent. We can begin by asking why the exponential growth This table also shows that over the 14 years, the in the cost of public education does not resemble largest increase was $8,427 per student in the increases in the private economy. Why, for example, Frontier School Division; the next largest increase are the public services, education, and health care, was $8,277 in Flin Flon; and the smallest increase affected by the “cost disease” while commercial was $3,931 per student in Beautiful Plains. Thus, the services and products, hair-cuts, automobiles, increasing cost of educating public school students and computers, are not? The answer is that in Manitoba school divisions varies between two and competition among businesses constrains the costs four times the CPI. of their services and products. Competition, in fact, pushes quality up and costs down. For commercial Figure 1 shows the cost of educating the average enterprises, customer satisfaction and profits are student in the 36 divisions (y-axis) by the number the main objectives, while they are decidedly not of FTE students in the divisions in 2016-17 (x-axis). the main objectives for public services. This figure shows the two outliers more clearly than the tables. Frontier School Division, with about The cost of public education in Manitoba is not 6,000 students, is much more expensive than the affected by competition. For public education, other divisions, while the Winnipeg School Division, efficiency and cost-containment does not seem to with almost 30,000 students, is a hundred dollars be as important as they are in private enterprises. below average in per student expenditures. This Consequently, the cost of education, specifically, figure also shows that the large divisions, on the has risen much faster than the CPI. For people right-hand side, are more similar and generally delivering educational services, there is always lower in costs per student than the small divisions more to be done; the demand seems to be on the left-hand side. In fact, only 7 of the 28 insatiable. Teachers, administrators, trustees, and divisions with less than 6,100 students are below superintendents have generally been successful average ($12,820) in their costs per student. The in convincing taxpayers and parents that there least expensive division is Garden Valley, which are never enough resources to educate students surprisingly, is a small division educating only 4,381 properly. As a result, the increasing rising budgets FTE students at $10,520 per student. These data continually and substantially exceed the CPI. suggest ways of reducing the expenditures within Presently, the Manitoba government empowers school divisions. school boards to levy property taxes, but it retains Policy Implications the right to adjust school arrangements, such as regulating class size for K to Grade 3, closing Over the last fourteen years increasingly underused schools, amalgamating small divisions, more resources have flowed into public school and implementing new and expensive programs. In divisions that have fewer students, larger school this way, the provincial government has regulated bureaucracies, and more educators who are schools while passing much of the costs associated better-paid. If, over this period, the expenditure with the regulations onto the school boards. Since for students was equivalent to the increase in the the funding from the province falls short of the CPI, the average cost per student in 2016-17 would budgetary requirements, at least in the minds of be $7,859 rather than $12,820 (calculated from school boards, property taxes must increase. These data in Table 1). This would save about $5,000 per data show that all school boards have been increasing student for a provincial saving of slightly more than their expenditures faster than the CPI, but a few $873-million in 2016-17 (see Table 2). Over the boards spend considerably less than others. So,

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how do we reduce expenditures to levels of those Likewise, some school divisions may be too large divisions where costs are least? Specifically, why for children and parents to feel valued (Winnipeg can’t all divisions per student costs be similar to the School Division, for example), and some may be too per students costs in Garden Valley, Hannover, and small to deliver cost-effective services (Turtle River, Beautiful Plains? for example). As a result, school division boundaries will probably need to be adjusted creating fewer but The answer is relatively simple: Do what other larger divisions. Canadian provinces have done. First, fund education entirely from provincial revenue and forbid school School trustees and teachers’ associations have boards from taxing property. This would force the stated year-after-year that not enough resources provincial government to take responsibility for have been allocated to the education of public funding all aspects of public education that it wants school students. Remember we pointed out that schools to deliver. In this way, the educational Chris Broughton, the chair of the WSD Finance objectives would be constrained to a common core Committee, claimed that, “Winnipeg School Division in public schools across the province. Second, enact does not have a spending problem, it has a funding legislation so that all school boards automatically problem” the same day that the School Board raised receive the same per student funding that Hanover, property taxes. Unfortunately, these bureaucrats for example, receives. If Hanover can educate over never say how much money they actually need to 7,636 FTE students on $10,750 per student in achieve their objectives, and they rarely, if ever, 2016-17, and if it can have one of the lowest costs provide evidence that the objectives have, in fact, for over 14 years in which the student population has been achieved. Until now, taxpayers have continued increased, is it not reasonable that other divisions— to pay for increases in educational spending that far except perhaps Frontier—would be able to educate exceed the cost of living with good evidence that students for about the same amount? Third, if the academic achievement of Manitoba’s students school boards need more money, they must provide has decreased. strong justifications to the provincial government for increasing their operating expenditures. Fourth, Over time, curbing the increasing cost of public the minister of education should carefully review education is the only real option. It is not sustainable the divisional budgets and allocate funds on for education costs to continue increasing at a rate justifiable needs rather than on past expenditures. that far exceeds the CPI without crowding out other Finally, all the budgets, justifications, and the necessary expenditures in the provincial budget, minister’s decisions should be published so that increasing the provincial debt, and burdening all citizens can see how effectively and efficiently taxpayers with ever-increasing taxes. At present, the money is spent in every school division in the the Progressive Conservative government is half way province. This strategy, of course, is a variation through its mandate, and it promised to constrain on zero-based budgeting, and it is a useful way of the cost of public services while increasing the finding and eliminating waste and inefficiencies in efficacy and effectiveness of the delivery systems. large, bureaucratic, and expensive public service In education, the government will need to deal with organizations, such as school divisions. the notion that there is never enough money. In heath care, Kelvin Goertzen has already shown that Of course, the regulations will need to be adjusted he is up to the challenge. Now he must demonstrate in the future to ensure that the core objectives are that he can bring the cost of public education under met by students; this will require the assessment control while improving the performances of students of the students’ academic achievement among on the international assessment instruments, such other things. Considerable experience suggests that as the PISA exams. some jurisdictions will be able to “game the funding formulae,” receiving more resources than they need.

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Table 1 Selected Statistics for Manitoba Public Schools, 2002-03 to 2016-17

Expenditure Expenditures Number of Expenditures per Student per FTE Consumer Year FTE Students (in current dollars) (in current dollars) Student Price Index

2002-03 $ 179,154.5 $ 1,331,481,751 $ 7,432 $ 100.00 $ 100.00 2003-04 $ 179,017.7 $ 1,389,949,901 $ 7,764 $ 104.50 $ 104.68 2004-05 $ 176,918.7 $ 1,433,317,347 $ 8,102 $ 109.02 $ 105.40 2005-06 $ 175,924.4 $ 1,500,199,795 $ 8,528 $ 114.75 $ 107.64 2006-07 $ 173,702.5 $ 1,565,008,220 $ 9,010 $ 121.23 $ 109.98 2007-08 $ 172,947.5 $ 1,637,071,457 $ 9,466 $ 127.37 $ 112.22 2008-09 $ 171,549.0 $ 1,710,978,448 $ 9,974 $ 134.20 $ 114.26 2009-10 $ 171,180.8 $ 1,774,625,405 $ 10,367 $ 139.49 $ 115.89 2010-11 $ 171,509.3 $ 1,830,429,081 $ 10,672 $ 143.60 $ 117.72 2011-12 $ 172,250.5 $ 1,899,860,396 $ 11,030 $ 148.41 $ 120.26 2012-13 $ 172,261.2 $ 1,970,121,728 $ 11,437 $ 153.89 $ 123.42 2013-14 $ 172,023.3 $ 2,037,566,750 $ 11,845 $ 159.38 $ 124.95 2014-15 $ 172,495.1 $ 2,105,227,522 $ 12,205 $ 164.22 $ 127.59 2015-16 $ 174,007.0 $ 2,181,454,880 $ 12,537 $ 168.69 $ 129.21 2016-17 $ 176,037.4 $ 2,256,805,467 $ 12,820 $ 172.50 $ 133.80

Table 2 Potential Savings in Operational Expenditures, 2002-03 to 2016-17

Savings as a Savings in Year Percentage Dollars

2002-03 0.00% $ 0 2003-04 0.18% $ -2,501,910 2004-05 3.62% $ 51,886,088 2005-06 7.11% $ 106,664,205 2006-07 11.25% $ 176,063,425 2007-08 15.15% $ 248,016,326 2008-09 19.94% $ 341,169,103 2009-10 23.60% $ 418,811,596 2010-11 25.88% $ 473,715,046 2011-12 28.15% $ 534,810,702 2012-13 30.47% $ 600,296,091 2013-14 34.43% $ 701,534,232 2014-15 36.63% $ 771,144,841 2015-16 39.21% $ 855,348,459 2016-17 38.70% $ 873,383,716 Total $ 6,150,341,920

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Table 3 Selected Educational Statistics for School Divisions, 2002-03

K-12 Full-Time Total Expenditure Equivilant Student/Educator Expenditures per Student Division/District Enrollment Ratio (in current dollars) (in current dollars)

Beautiful Plains 1,622.5 15.2 $ 11,166,615 $ 6,882 Border Land 2,349.9 13.5 $ 17,883,408 $ 7,610 Brandon 7,293.0 15.2 $ 46,472,088 $ 6,372 DSFM 4,279.2 12.4 $ 39,328,158 $ 9,191 Evergreen 1,686.0 16.1 $ 12,289,896 $ 7,289 Flin Flon 1,409.1 14.6 $ 10,778,848 $ 7,649 Fort La Bosse 1,570.7 13.5 $ 12,256,252 $ 7,803 Frontier 5,929.0 12.8 $ 70,422,417 $ 11,878 Garden Valley 2,927.3 15.8 $ 17,680,628 $ 6,040 Hanover 6,121.0 17.9 $ 33,325,751 $ 5,444 Interlake 3,309.4 15.0 $ 23,180,659 $ 7,004 Kelsey 1,690.0 14.8 $ 12,353,028 $ 7,309 Lakeshore 1,371.1 14.5 $ 10,509,778 $ 7,665 Lord Selkirk 4,611.7 14.9 $ 32,770,433 $ 7,106 Louis Riel 14,889.2 15.2 $ 102,995,915 $ 6,917 Mountain View 3,350.0 14.1 $ 25,696,923 $ 7,671 Mystery Lake 3,318.3 14.2 $ 25,682,002 $ 7,740 Park West 2,142.2 14.4 $ 16,069,354 $ 7,505 Pembina Trails 13,077.9 14.8 $ 97,469,910 $ 7,453 Pine Creek 1,282.6 14.2 $ 9,629,942 $ 7,508 Portage la Prairie 3,365.3 14.6 $ 24,178,332 $ 7,185 Prairie Rose 2,350.0 14.4 $ 17,898,483 $ 7,616 Prairie Spirit 2,493.1 13.2 $ 21,666,050 $ 8,690 Red River Valley 2,212.0 15.9 $ 16,232,825 $ 7,339 River East Transcona 17,817.7 15.1 $ 121,068,113 $ 6,795 Rolling River 2,124.0 14.3 $ 15,786,108 $ 7,432 Seine River 3,380.1 15.9 $ 23,109,516 $ 6,837 Seven Oaks 8,523.5 15.4 $ 60,912,914 $ 7,146 Southwest Horizon 1,809.0 14.5 $ 14,630,988 $ 8,088 St. James-Assiniboia 9,119.4 15.0 $ 61,581,665 $ 6,753 Sunrise 4,915.8 14.3 $ 36,338,724 $ 7,392 Swan Valley 1,880.3 15.3 $ 14,462,324 $ 7,691 Turtle Mountain 1,219.0 13.7 $ 8,911,455 $ 7,310 Turtle River 818.5 13.4 $ 6,538,212 $ 7,988 Western 1,458.0 16.7 $ 9,620,939 $ 6,599 Winnipeg 30,823.0 14.6 $ 245,372,716 $ 7,961 Totals 179,154.5 14.8 $ 1,331,481,751 $ 7,432

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Table 4 Selected Educational Statistics for School Divisions, 2016-17

K-12 Full-Time Total Expenditure Equivilant Student/Educator Expenditures per Student Division/District Enrollment Ratio (in current dollars) (in current dollars)

Beautiful Plains 1,766.0 13.9 $ 19,095,701 $ 10,813 Border Land 2,119.6 11.1 $ 32,799,377 $ 15,475 Brandon 8,373.5 12.8 $ 95,621,064 $ 11,419 DSFM 5,483.1 11.9 $ 81,342,274 $ 14,835 Evergreen 1,399.2 12.3 $ 19,460,021 $ 13,908 Flin Flon 903.8 11.4 $ 14,393,625 $ 15,926 Fort La Bosse 1,397.5 12.4 $ 17,558,599 $ 12,564 Frontier 6,094.9 11.8 $ 123,756,568 $ 20,305 Garden Valley 4,381.0 15.0 $ 46,086,688 $ 10,520 Hanover 7,635.5 14.4 $ 82,080,624 $ 10,750 Interlake 2,742.1 11.8 $ 35,741,629 $ 13,034 Kelsey 1,523.6 12.9 $ 19,391,493 $ 12,727 Lakeshore 1,114.5 11.8 $ 16,636,424 $ 14,927 Lord Selkirk 3,948.3 11.6 $ 56,455,744 $ 14,299 Louis Riel 14,335.9 13.8 $ 174,584,672 $ 12,178 Mountain View 3,056.0 12.9 $ 40,882,991 $ 13,378 Mystery Lake 2,987.8 11.8 $ 41,442,197 $ 13,871 Park West 1,963.0 11.2 $ 28,007,899 $ 14,268 Pembina Trails 13,082.4 14.2 $ 158,369,258 $ 12,106 Pine Creek 999.1 11.0 $ 14,090,608 $ 14,103 Portage la Prairie 3,253.0 12.9 $ 37,463,904 $ 11,517 Prairie Rose 2,153.2 11.7 $ 28,989,102 $ 13,463 Prairie Spirit 2,019.5 12.5 $ 27,775,125 $ 13,753 Red River Valley 2,034.9 12.2 $ 29,022,258 $ 14,262 River East Transcona 15,608.0 13.6 $ 181,302,304 $ 11,616 Rolling River 1,667.5 12.1 $ 23,261,672 $ 13,950 Seine River 4,183.0 13.8 $ 49,429,915 $ 11,817 Seven Oaks 10,993.8 13.6 $ 132,740,818 $ 12,074 Southwest Horizon 1,500.0 11.5 $ 21,297,681 $ 14,198 St. James-Assiniboia 8,260.4 13.5 $ 103,349,549 $ 12,511 Sunrise 4,458.5 12.1 $ 61,370,112 $ 13,765 Swan Valley 1,378.6 12.0 $ 20,070,287 $ 14,558 Turtle Mountain 962.7 12.0 $ 13,016,350 $ 13,521 Turtle River 693.5 10.8 $ 10,774,720 $ 15,537 Western 1,685.0 13.7 $ 18,816,782 $ 11,167 Winnipeg 29,879.0 13.5 $ 380,327,432 $ 12,729 Totals 176,037.4 13.1 $ 2,256,805,467 $ 12,820

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Table 5 Increase in Expenditure per Student for Divisions, 2002-03 to 2016-17

Increase in Percentage Increase Expenditures in Expenditures Division/District per Student per Student

Beautiful Plains $ 3,931 57.1% Border Land $ 7,865 103.3% Brandon $ 5,047 79.2% DSFM $ 5,644 61.4% Evergreen $ 6,619 90.8% Flin Flon $ 8,277 108.2% Fort La Bosse $ 4,761 61.0% Frontier $ 8,427 70.9% Garden Valley $ 4,480 74.2% Hanover $ 5,306 97.5% Interlake $ 6,030 86.1% Kelsey $ 5,418 74.1% Lakeshore $ 7,262 94.7% Lord Selkirk $ 7,193 101.2% Louis Riel $ 5,261 76.1% Mountain View $ 5,707 74.4% Mystery Lake $ 6,131 79.2% Park West $ 6,763 90.1% Pembina Trails $ 4,653 62.4% Pine Creek $ 6,595 87.8% Portage la Prairie $ 4,332 60.3% Prairie Rose $ 5,847 76.8% Prairie Spirit $ 5,063 58.3% Red River Valley $ 6,923 94.3% River East Transcona $ 4,821 70.9% Rolling River $ 6,518 87.7% Seine River $ 4,980 72.8% Seven Oaks $ 4,928 69.0% Southwest Horizon $ 6,110 75.5% St. James-Assiniboia $ 5,758 85.3% Sunrise $ 6,373 86.2% Swan Valley $ 6,867 89.3% Turtle Mountain $ 6,211 85.0% Turtle River $ 7,549 94.5% Western $ 4,568 69.2% Winnipeg $ 4,768 59.9% Totals $ 5,916 79.6%

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Figure 1 Cost per FTE Student by the Number of FTE Students in the 36 School Divisions, 2016-17

25,000

20,000

15,000

10,000 Cost per FTECost per Student

5,000

0 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000

Number of FTE Students in the Divisions

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ENDNOTES

1. Nick Martin, “Wishart school of hard knocks,” Winnipeg Free Press, June 13, 2018, B1. 2. Nick Martin, “6.4% tax hike coming?” Winnipeg Free Press, March 8, 2016, A3. 3. The Bank of Canada has a Consumer Price Indicator calculator on its web site at: http://www.bankofcanada.ca. 4. Nick Martin, “Winnipeg School Division approves 5.89% tax hike,” Winnipeg Free Press, March 15, 2016, B1. 5. Nick Martin, “Tories put public education system on hold,” Winnipeg Free Press, September 11, 2017, online. 6. Nick Martin, “School spending bucks Pallister’s fiscal plan,” Winnipeg Free Press, October 10, 2017. 7. Jay P. Greene, Education Myths: What Special-Interest Groups want you to Believe about our Schools—and why it isn’t so, (Lanham, MA: Roman & Littlefield), 2005, 7. 8. William J. Baumol, The Cost Disease: Why Computers get Cheaper and Health Care Doesn’t, (New Haven, CO: Yale University Press), 2012. 9. Rodney A. Clifton, “The Cost Disease Infects Public Education across Canada,” Frontier Centre for Public Policy and Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, 2014. 10. John Richards, “Red Flags for Educators: Lessons for Canada in the PISA results,” C.D. Howe Institute, 2017. 11. See David R. Johnson, “Teacher Compensation and Student Outcomes in Canada’s Six Largest Provinces,” C.D. Howe Institute, 2015; Anna Stokke, “Education System in Crisis,” Winnipeg Free Press, October 8, 2014, A9; Anna Stokke, “What to Do about Canada’s Declining Math Scores,” C.D. Howe Institute, 2015. 12. Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, Schools’ Finance Branch, FRAME Report 2002/03 Actual, August 2004 to Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning, Finance and Statistics, FRAME Report Actual 2016/17, June 2018. 13. Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, 2004, iii-vii. 14. Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, 2004. 15. Calculated on the CPI calculator at the Bank of Canada web site. 16. Nick Martin, “Winnipeg School Division,” B1.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baumol, William J. The Cost Disease: Why Computers get Cheaper and Health Care Doesn’t. New Haven, CO: Yale University Press, 2012. Clifton, Rodney A. The Cost Disease Infects Public Education across Canada. Winnipeg, MB: Frontier Centre for Public Policy and Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, 2014. Greene, Jay P. Education Myths: What Special-Interest Groups want you to Believe about our Schools—and why it isn’t so. Lanham, MA: Roman & Littlefield, 2005. Johnson, David R. Teacher Compensation and Student Outcomes in Canada’s Six Largest Provinces. Toronto, ON: C.D. Howe Institute, 2015. Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, Schools’ Finance Branch, FRAME Report 2002/03 Actual, August 2004 to Manitoba Education and Advanced Learning, Finance and Statistics, FRAME Report Actual 2016/17, June 2018. Martin, Nick. “6.4% tax hike coming?” Winnipeg Free Press, March 8, 2016, A3. Martin, Nick. “Winnipeg School Division approves 5.89% tax hike,” Winnipeg Free Press, March 15, 2016, B1. Martin, Nick. “Tories put public education system on hold,” Winnipeg Free Press, September 11, 2017. Martin, Nick. “School spending bucks Pallister’s fiscal plan,”Winnipeg Free Press, October 10, 2017. Martin, Nick. “Wishart school of hard knocks,” Winnipeg Free Press, June 13, 2018, B1. Richards, John. Red Flags for Educators: Lessons for Canada in the PISA results. Toronto, ON: C.D. Howe Institute, 2017. Stokke, Anna. “Education System in Crisis,” Winnipeg Free Press, October 8, 2014, A9. Stokke, Anna. What to Do about Canada’s Declining Math Scores. Toronto, ON: C.D. Howe Institute, 2015. The Bank of Canada. Consumer Price Indicator Calculator: http://www.bankofcanada.ca.

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