An increase in mill rate was announced at the Hanover School Division meeting Tuesday night.

The board approved an operating budget of $86,636,800 along with a 2.41% increase in the education tax levy which means on a home assessed at $250,000 there will be an additional $40 on a homeowner's tax bill.

Finance board chair Rick Peters says the total 2017-2018 budget is $97,719,400, being comprised of $86,636,800 for the operating budget, $1,178,500 for transfers to capital, and $8,904,100 for debt servicing of principle and interest. He adds the increase of .35 mills was approved raising the overall mill rate from 14.94 to 15.29.

Peters notes the budget is currently conditional upon the continuation of additional provincial funding of $960,000 which has not yet been announced.

"A number of years ago the previous government put in a program that we call 20 K-3. Initially what that said was that they wanted every Kindergarten to Grade 3 class in Manitoba to be no more than 20 students. So, they funded a portion to make that happen within the school divisions."

He adds they do anticipate to hear from the province on the 20 K-3 funding within the month. If the funding is not announced Peters says the board would have to reconvene and discuss what their next step would be; whether to further increase the mill rate, cut areas in the budget.

This is Peter's second year in a row as finance board chair. He says what strikes him the most is how the administration is able to gather information from all the varying departments in the division to submit for a budget to be created which serves a division of 1,100 staff and approximately 7,900 students.