Sask. property owners to pay $67M more education tax this year

Thanks to measures contained in the provincial budget, many people who pay education property taxes could see a "substantial" increase, the Saskatchewan School Boards Association says.

The Saskatchewan government has set mill rates that will result in $67 million more in property tax revenue — a 10 per cent increase.

Individual tax increases will vary, depending on changes to assessments, but an average hike of 10 per cent is what the budget suggests, SSBA president Shawn Davidson said.

"I think that's possible," Davidson said. "It will be a substantial increase."

In Regina, a homeowner with a house assessed at $200,000, with school taxes at $700 last year, might see a $770 bill this year. 

That's if there was a 10 per cent hike.

But the City of Saskatoon released a report late Friday afternoon suggesting education taxes in that city will go up seven per cent.

Meanwhile, provincial grants — the second main source of income for school boards — will also see a significant cut.

As a result, the net change is a reduction to $1.86 billion in school funding — $22 million less than last year.

That means, essentially, that local ratepayers will be paying more but getting less in total for their schools, Davidson said.