CTF Report

REGINA: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) has made recommendations to the Commission on K-12 education financing that would dramatically cut school taxes on property without affecting spending levels in core program areas.

"This government can no longer bury its head in the sand and pretend a school tax crisis doesn't exist," said CTF Saskatchewan Director David MacLean. "The K-12 Financing Commission's interim report confirms what we've been saying all along - school taxes are onerous and unfair, and they are hurting our economy. Now it's time to reform the way schools are funded in Saskatchewan."

Reform the way schools are funded in Saskatchewan
The CTF's proposal contains several recommendations aimed at reducing property taxes, maintaining local autonomy, and preserving government funding of core program areas such as health, education, agriculture and infrastructure.

The CTF recommends:

• 75 per cent of school funding should come from general revenues, and the remaining 25 per cent from local property tax payers.
• Schools should be funded on a per-pupil basis, to efficiently allocate resources to address population changes.
• Reduce school taxes on property by $350 million by reallocating spending from non-core areas.
  
  School taxes must be addressed
  
  " For years, the CTF has recommended reductions in school taxes. We've published studies, delivered thousands of signed petitions, and made presentations to government," said MacLean. "For the last several years our number one recommendation to government has been to establish a commission on education funding. And now the commission's interim report validates what we have been saying all along - school taxes must be reduced immediately."
  
  "For far too long the province has funded education on the backs of property taxpayers," added MacLean. "We can afford to make this change, all we lack is the political will to make it a reality."