News Release

HRM Residents Forced to Pay Additional Education Costs

(Thursday, June 3/2004)-- Residents of Halifax Regional Municipality will be paying all--plus more-- of the total $2.7 million in new money going to provincial school boards this year for mandatory education funding, Mayor Peter Kelly said today.

Despite HRM's contribution, Education Minister Jamie Muir announced this afternoon that Halifax Regional School Board will only be receiving about $975,000 of the total $2.7 million in new funding.

Mayor Kelly said Halifax Regional Council had set aside $3.5 million in this year's budget to allow for increased education costs. However, as a result of today's announcement by the Province, the taxpayers of HRM will have to come up with an additional $2.5 million.

Therefore, the total in new Mandatory Education Funding for HRM this year is $6 million-- $2.5 million of that is unbudgeted for in the 2004/05 approved Operating Budget.

Mayor Kelly said "Since 2001-2002 , HRM's mandatory education costs have risen by $13 million or over 20%. More worrisome is the long-term trend. The provincial government appears determined to maintain the same education tax rate, despite rising assessment values. Maintaining the same tax rate goes against the traditional municipal philosophy of first determining what funds are required-- and then setting the rate. Continuing with the same approach will cost HRM an additional $7.5 million in 2005-2006. This is a 30% increase in only four years."

The Mayor said HRM has more than one-third of the total school population in Nova Scotia, yet it pays close to 50 per cent of the total Mandatory Education Funding collected by the province.

Also, based on the present formula, the Halifax Regional School Board (HRSB) last year received about $1,000 less per student for education than did other regional school boards in the province.

"We don't mind paying our fair share for education costs, but we've reached the point now where the taxpayers of HRM can no longer afford to be giving money to the province to use for education purposes in other jurisdictions in Nova Scotia," Mayor Kelly said. "Let's not forget than under the Canadian Constitution, education is the responsibility of the Province."

Mayor Kelly said there is increasing concern among a number of municipalities that the Province is using Mandatory Education Funding for expenditures that were never intended to be included, such as costs for teacher benefits (medical, dental) and teacher pension costs. Moreover, the Province has abandoned its commitment to pay for 90% of incremental funding for public education. In the upcoming year, the Province is paying just over 80%

He said that HRM was required to pay an additional $1 million in education costs last year because the province advised municipalities that teacher benefit costs would be included in education funding. In its Budget presentation this spring, the Province announced that it would also be requiring municipalities this year to cost-share on expenditures related to the teachers pension plan, currently underfunded by $1 billion.

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Mayor Peter Kelly
(902) 490-4010