The Manitoba government does not yet have plans to spend the money being saved by school divisions province-wide.

With classes suspended indefinitely due to COVID-19, school divisions have fewer operational costs and are saving money. Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen says his government is keeping track of those savings but has announced no intention of using them to get out of pandemic-related debt as some have suggested.

“There is no questions that the closing of schools is going to have some savings, we know that,” states Goertzen. “But I just don’t think it makes sense to make predictions right now based on only a few weeks and not knowing what those savings will look like.”

Goertzen says his office has advised divisions to hold onto their savings until the pandemic has run its course, at which point they will be able to more clearly assess what new needs have arisen. One thing the minister is certain of is that there will be more unforeseen expenses.

“When we get into a normal school year again, whether that’s before the end of June this school year or starting back up again in September, there are going to be some additional costs.”

One cost Goertzen already anticipates is dealing with the natural shortcomings of home-based learning.

“We are going to have to catch some students up,” he states. “I think there are going to have to be some supplemental learning opportunities because not every student will have done as well under this environment. And that is going to require some extra money.”

Still, Goertzen says suggesting a direct course of action is entirely futile.

“In a situation like this, you’ve got to make decisions on actual realities and not just what you think might happen.”