Teachers insulted by Pallister's suggestion they shell out for school supplies
'If he thinks that we aren't already going the extra mile, he needs to give his head a shake'
Some Manitoba teachers say they are angry and insulted that Premier Brian Pallister thinks it's fair for teachers to pay out-of-pocket for supplies they need to do their jobs.
"I think that's disgusting. I think it's insulting and I think he should be ashamed of himself," said Katie Hurst, a performing arts teacher who works out of a number of schools in Winnipeg.
"I think he's lying to the public when he says that he's putting money into the hands of teachers when for the past four years, he's consistently underfunded education."
As part of its budget announcement on Wednesday, the province revealed a plan to offer tax credits to teachers for the supplies they buy. They will get a 15 per cent tax refund on the first $1,000 they spend for the classroom.
Pallister, a former teacher himself, says the refund will promote innovation on the part of educators.
"I've watched teachers invest their own money out of their own pocket for decades now and I just think this is a good, fair incentive to encourage other teachers do the same," he said, noting he spent his own money "every year" in the classroom.
Pallister was asked by reporters if he was bothered by the idea that teachers have had to do that.
"Doesn't bother me at all," he said.
He defended his stance Thursday morning, when CBC's Information Radio host Marcy Markusa asked Pallister if his government is downloading the cost of education onto teachers.
Tax credit pushes innovation: Pallister
"Not in the least, no, no, no," he said. "I think there's a real misunderstanding here. I'm not trying to defend the lack of essential items. I think that's a bogus argument, quite frankly, because our education budget is higher than it's ever been.
"This is about encouraging innovation in the classroom. This is about giving people a little bit of money back to invest in extra projects or to invest in things that can help their children to grow.
"There's no end to the innovative ideas that teachers can come up with … and I expect that their students are going to benefit if they have some encouragement to do some additional projects, to do some additional activities, to do things which sometimes require additional resources but are the result of aspirational teachers.
"I think that that's a good thing, not a bad thing."
It bothers Hurst, however.
"If he thinks that we aren't already going the extra mile, he needs to give his head a shake. We are all going the extra mile," she said.
"Everybody, every single teacher I know goes the extra mile. So I don't, I honestly think what he's saying doesn't even make any sense."
Mike Moroz, who teaches at a Winnipeg high school, agrees. He worries the tax credit could be a slippery slope.
"The 25 per cent reduction in the education property levy, combined with those comments [from Pallister], make it clear to teachers that the government has no intention to properly fund public education, no intention whatsoever."
Moroz questions if the province will make up the difference in education funding when the government slashes the education tax for owners of residential and farm property by 25 per cent, and other types of property owners by 10 per cent, this year. It's expected the move will sink revenues by $150 million.
The province made the announcement in the 2021-22 provincial budget, which was released on Wednesday. The government has vowed to cover the shortfall through government revenues. The province plans to boost spending for education by $1.6 billion over the next four years.
At question period Thursday, Pallister said his Progressive Conservative government was mirroring a rebate for school supply purchases already introduced by the federal government. He proceeded to read a news clipping in which former Manitoba Teachers Society president Norm Gould commended the federal tax credit.
Pallister also slammed the Official Opposition, after NDP Leader Wab Kinew said Pallister's remarks Wednesday were "out of touch."
"They'd rather give money to trustees for junkets than put it into the classroom with the teacher," said Pallister, whose government plans to dissolve elected English-language school boards by the summer of 2022.
Education Minister Cliff Cullen told reporters after question period that 2,500 Manitoba teachers applied for the federal school supply tax credit last year. He expects a similar uptake for the provincial refund as well.
"We're just acknowledging those teachers that go above and beyond," Cullen said.
WATCH | Manitoba teachers respond to school supply tax credit:
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With files from Meaghan Ketcheson, Ian Froese