Hiking the provincial sales tax, using lottery money for education and asking Ottawa to pay more are among suggestions Saskatchewan taxpayers have made to a commission studying education funding.
“We’ve heard a lot of ideas and see some trends emerging,” said commissioner Ray Boughen in a News release
news. “However, for every point, there’s a counter point. Finding the right balance won’t be easy.”
Boughen has dozens of recommendations to sift through as he works toward his final report due at the end of this year.
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While many tackled the issue of property taxes that are too high and suggested alternative funding methods, others pointed out that the Kindergarten to Grade 12 educational system has to be more efficient.
Recommendations on that topic included amalgamating more school divisions, setting common boundaries for education, health, justice and social services, and capping school division budgets.
Still others asked the government to pay for core curriculum while school divisions paid for extras, or for the government to pay the teacher salaries it negotiates.
Boughen said he hasn’t made any decisions yet. Taxpayers have until Nov. 7 to send written submissions or to respond to the interim report. To find the report on the commission website, visit www.producer.com and click on links in the news.
