Manitoba reluctant to share the bill for expensive pandemic schooling

You don't need a degree inepidemiology to empathizewith people'sfearsas Manitoba schools get set to reopen, even as COVID-19 still looms large.

Schools have always been prime breeding grounds for germs. That won't changein September, but mix in aneasily spread new virus and pesky physical distancing rules somekids won't follow, and you've gota possiblerecipe for transmission.

That has manyparents andschool staff on side withexperts calling for masks, smaller class sizes and improved ventilation, especially as the number of coronavirus cases in Manitoba rises steadily.

The provincial government said it cares, too, about making schools safe, but so far hasn't backed that up withnew money at least, not yet.

Without additional funding from the province, school divisions are fine-tuning plans on their owntokeep students at least a metre apart, tailorlessons forremote learning and incur thecosts ofnew bus routes andsanitization measures.

They'returning tomoney they saved when classes were shuttered in March and non-essential expenses were cut. If they need more cash, school divisions will dipintotheirbudgets.

Paying for face coverings

Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen said last week the province would reassess the funding questionif school divisions say they need more money.

The province has offered to pay for masks (they're strongly recommendedfor students in Grade 5 and above, but not mandatory in Manitoba schools) and other protective gear, but the undetermined financial commitment fallsshort of what manywant.

The Manitoba Teachers' Society, for example,is calling for funding to make masks mandatory, cap class sizes, hire substitute teachers and implementrapidCOVID-19 testing.

The reluctance to spend new money three weeks before the start of an unprecedented school year isn't shocking whenyou remember howtightly Brian Pallister'sProgressive Conservative government has held onto the province'spurse stringsbefore, and during, the pandemic.

Consider school divisions, which argued they were cash-strapped long before anyoneheard of COVID-19. Administrationand trusteesgrumbled for years of reduced provincial grants, or funding increases below the rate of inflation,under Tory leadership. Property tax increases werelimited to two per cent per year.

But now, the government's austerity approachon track before the pandemicto whittle away Manitoba's deficit to nothing isdrawing the ire of many parents worried about sending their kids to school.

Meanwhile, other provinces have pledged new money for education.

Ontario is setting aside more than $200 million for enhanced custodial needs, better ventilation andpersonal protective equipment. It's also giving all school divisions the authorityto spend a total of $500 million from theirreserves.

Saskatchewan is allocating $40 million for pandemic-related costs, while Quebec is devoting $20 million to hiremore teachers and specialized tutors.

In Manitoba,Pallisterhasn't exactly seemed anxious tocrackopen the province's piggy bank.

By mid-April a month into theeconomic shutdownthe province had fundeda volunteer-finder app,mental health therapy anda call centre linkingManitobans withfederal help, but had not at that point created anyfinancial aid packages of its own.

Pallistersaid his government was waiting tofind the cracks in Ottawa's assistance before digging into the province's coffersperhaps a prudent financial decision financially, but caution didn't keep other provinces from providingstimulus cash.

Take Saskatchewan for example,which by then was offering grants of up to $5,000 for any business, no strings attached.

Manitoba eventually made $256 million in support for businesses and employmentavailable, but some would argue it'srevisionist historyfor Pallister to say, as he has at recent media briefings, that his government presented the "right program[s]at the right time."

As for schools, new money alone won't allay the legitimate fears ofreopeningduringapandemic. Some people won't feel safe until a vaccine exists, or until everyone 10 years of age and older is wearing a face covering.

But new money might help convince them thatthe government cares about safety as well as balancing the provincial books.