Sask. education spending sees biggest drop in Canada: report

Operational spending for Saskatchewan schools decreased 5.7 per cent in recent years when adjusting for inflation and enrolment growth - the biggest drop in the country, according to a Fraser Institute report.

"We believe for all education stakeholders and parents that knowledge is power," said Paige MacPherson, one of the study's authors.

"Being able to see how much provinces are spending on public schools is very important for people to have a full understanding of how many tax dollars are being spent. And then they can decide for themselves whether they're getting a good value for that money spent."

MacPherson studied each province from the years 2014/15 to 2018/19, separating operational spending from bricks-and-mortar capital spending. Looking at operational spending shows how much is being spent to keep the lights on and keep teachers and other educational staff paid, she said.

Among her findings was that enrolment grew in Saskatchewan by 5.5 per cent, compared to the national average of 3.2 per cent.

She didn't give an opinion on whether Saskatchewan's operational spending indicated prudence or underfunding.

"That's not up to me, it's up to every parent and every education stakeholder to make the decision about where they think the appropriate level of spending is. Tracking the growth or decline in spending is important. But people in Saskatchewan can know that the province is about middle of the pack in terms of what it spends in Canada on per-student spending on public schools. Fifth highest, really right in the middle. So that's the real snapshot of what is being spent.

"There was a decline in terms of inflation-adjusted spending. To have an opinion on that you really have to decide was the spending too high before, was it too low. So that's why it really is up to each person to make that determination. But being able to compare to different provinces, I think, is an important part of that - and the national average."

The Ministry of Education took umbrage with the study's methodology.

"Many of the comparisons in the Fraser report are made using per-student funding amounts. The Ministry of Education does not allocate funding to school divisions on a per-student basis and making per student funding comparisons can lead to inaccurate conclusions regarding education funding levels in Saskatchewan," spokesperson Chelsey Balaski said in a statement.

Since 2007, operating funding to school divisions has increased $546.8 million - a 38.7 per cent increase which is higher than the 13 per cent enrolment increase over that period, Balaski said.

"From 2019-20 to 2021-22, school operating funding has increased $61.5 million. This is an increase of 3.2 per cent, enrolment has not significantly changed over that time."

However, for Saskatchewan School Boards Association President Shawn Davidson the Fraser report confirms what they've been saying.

"As the Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA) and our 27 member boards, we have been advocating for adequate, sustainable and predictable operational funding for quite some time and we have noticed that our financial power to deliver services to students has been eroded over the last several years."

He said that has led to boards repeatedly having to make difficult decisions at budget time. Boards have made gains in efficiencies such as in buildings, transportation and office procedures - but "you can only squeeze efficiencies so far," he said.

"Without some reinvestment in the sector, we're going to see boards continue to have to make those difficult decisions because the dollars just aren't there to pay for the services that our students need and should be able to receive."

The SSBA isn't advocating for a specific per-student funding amount, as costs are "vastly different" across the province; urban schools can achieve economies of scale, while rural and remote boards face higher costs around transportation and delivery of student support services, he said.

However, knowing what the province would be spending in future years, rather than finding out on each annual budget day, would be helpful, he said.

That doesn't appear to be in the cards, according to the education ministry. Balaski said the government's funding model considers factors such as the students, where the school is located and the size of the school.

"This method recognizes the unique cost pressures and circumstances experienced by different school divisions in the province. One of the guiding principles of the funding model is stability and the distribution formulas within the funding model provide predictability, which allows boards of education to budget and plan for the future."