The Prince Albert Catholic School Division (PACSD) was pleased with the province’s 2026 budget investment in education.
The government is investing $3.6 billion in education this budget year. The budget funds will be used for Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 schools, early learning and childcare and libraries.
Saskatchewan’s 27 school divisions will receive $2.5 billion in school operating funding for the 2026-27 school year, an increase of $62.2 million, or 2.6 per cent from the previous budget. Over the past three years, the province has increased school operating funding by approximately 20 per cent.
Director of education Lorel Trumier and CFO Greg McEwen, who presented a breakdown at the board of education regular meeting on Monday, agreed that some elements have been improved.
“Supports for learning (have improved) and we also understand that there has been a maintenance of the multi-year funding agreement,” Trumier said. “That creates stability, and … that’s welcomed. It’s good for us to have good decisions made when we know it’s a stable funding source in those particular areas like supports for learning.”
According to the province, the budget includes $28.9 million for salary and benefit increases, $16.3 million for an additional 50 Specialized Support Classrooms, $9.2 million for inflationary pressures and $7.8 million for enrolment growth.
The board also heard about the continuation of targeted support funding to hire educational assistants and classroom supports. The division is eligible to receive an additional $4,221 in targeted funding compared to 2025-26. This funding will be integrated into the division’s budget.
The division will receive $231,917 more than last year, pending the enrolment adjustment on Sept. 30, 2026.
The division saw enrolment increase in each of the last three school years, leading to slight mid-year adjustments. The 2027-2027 estimate is a full-time Pre-K to Grade 12 enrolment of approximately 2,909, school divisions are generally conservative in their enrolment estimates.
The division will also see a $256,000 increase in Preventative Maintenance and Renewal (PMR) money.
“I think this is not unique to our school division, but we have aging infrastructure across the province,” Trumier said. “Certainly in our school division, that’s going to require more Preventative Maintenance and Renewal or more minor reno projects or more major capital projects.”
She said the division has mapped that cost out over the next six years and the numbers are not getting smaller.
“They’re getting bigger because we keep having to bump some of those projects down the line,” she explained. “Some are going to be more emergent than others, so that’s the problem. We’re not addressing them. We’re just kicking it down the line, so to speak.”
There is $123.8 million for new and ongoing school capital as part of the province’s capital plan.
Trumier was also happy to see the government invest in a new consolidated school in Shellbrook because any investment in the northern part of the province is welcome.
“I’m very happy for the community of Shellbrook because anyone in the north here (knows) our infrastructures are aging,” she said. “We need to address that too, so (I’m) happy for that community. I understand it’s going to be a consolidation of two schools, so that’s wonderful.”
In 2018, the Catholic Division enacted a bylaw where they can determine its own separate school division tax and set education mill rates. The division is required to pass a resolution each year before April 20 to set their own property tax mill rates.
At their meeting, the board chose to set their mill rate the same as that of the province. The 2025 provincial mill rate is 1.07 mills for agricultural property, 4.27 for residential property, 6.37 mills for commercial/industrial property and 7.49 mills for resource property.
Trumier said the decision around setting mill rates is very serious and this structure of matching with the province preceded her.
“We exercise our rate every year and make sure that we take some time to assess that,” she said. “The board takes the (responsibility) seriously and wants to ensure that if that decision is made there’s for good reason. At this point, there’s lots of good reasons to increase it but we don’t feel a need to put the pressure on our families any more than what’s being experienced already in the economy around us.”
STF says that 2026-2027 education budget misses the mark
In a news release last week, the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation said that despite important steps forward, Budget 2026 fails to build on recent momentum to address classroom complexity or close the gap on restoring per-student funding to 2015-16 levels.
STF President Samantha Becotte said specialized support classrooms acknowledged a real and growing challenge in Saskatchewan classrooms – but Budget 2026 will not cover the cost of inflation and enrolment growth, leaving school divisions in the position of facing difficult choices.
“We recognize that the government has taken initial steps over the last year to address classroom complexity and increasing violence in our schools,” Becotte said in a release. “But student needs continue to grow. This budget does not provide the additional funding required to sustain both specialized support classrooms and maintain access to other supports students need.”
Without new investment, the STF warns that school divisions may be forced to absorb costs by diverting funds from other programs or services.
“When funding doesn’t keep pace with need, the pressure doesn’t disappear – it shows up elsewhere,” Becotte said. “That means difficult choices for school divisions and fewer supports for students, which is a step backward from the momentum that had begun.”
Addressing classroom complexity and increasing violence in schools remains a top priority for teachers across Saskatchewan. The STF is calling on government to work with teachers and school divisions to ensure future budgets fully support students, protect existing services and build on the progress already made – not step back from it. michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
