$15.5 million in funding to support province's largest enrollment growth in over 20 years
November 3, 2022, 11:02 am
Saskatchewan's school divisions saw the largest enrollment growth for Saskatchewan schools in over 20 years with more than 189,900 students registered in provincial Kindergarten to Grade 12 school divisions, an increase of 3,840 students compared to last year.
To support this growth, the Government of Saskatchewan will be providing an additional $15.5 million in operating funding to the province's school divisions for the 2022-23 school year.
"The province is experiencing strong economic and population growth and our government is committed to ensuring that everyone in Saskatchewan benefits from this growth," Education Minister Dustin Duncan said. "That includes ensuring the school divisions have the necessary funding to keep providing high-quality learning environments and supports to all students across the province."
A higher number of students new to Saskatchewan has increased the enrollment numbers significantly, including approximately 500 Ukrainian students enrolled through the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel program. That number continues to grow. The latest family to arrive in Moosomin under the program are arriving today, and one new Ukrainian student will start school at MacLeod School next week.
Enrollment funding is based on preliminary school division enrollment data collected by the Ministry of Education, which will be updated in December to reflect September 30, 2022, actual enrollment numbers.
This brings the operating budget to a record investment of over $2 billion for the 2022-23 school year. Additionally, the Government of Saskatchewan also announced a one-time investment of $20 million in July to assist school divisions with inflationary pressures and $7 million to assist in the hiring of 200 additional educational assistants in March.
