Does Winnipeg have too many school divisions?

There have been some discussions lately on whether Manitoba’s school divisions should be streamlined or amalgamated.

While Winnipeg has six different school divisions, St. James-Assiniboia, Pembina Trails, Louis-Riel, Winnipeg, Seven Oaks and River East Transcona, other large communities across the country like Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton and Ottawa have moved to just one or two.

“It’s about striking a balance,” said Education Minister Ian Wishart to Global News, “so that people still have the opportunity to be heard, parents in particular, so local needs can be met as to how big you can make the school divisions.

“We’re going to talk about the structure of the school divisions, some of the content on education and how the funding is handled. Our system is the last in the country to have 38 school divisions like this and the last system in the country so heavily dependent on property taxes,” Wishart added.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We're going to talk about the structure of the school divisions, some of the content on education and how the funding is handled. Our system is the last in the country to have 38 school divisions like this and the last system in the country so heavily dependent on property taxes," Wishart added.

Wishart said it’s the most common question that he’s asked and a complete review of the K-12 system is set to begin in early 2019.