SWLSB’s Bletas denounces ‘unequal’ French, English school taxes
Wants one council to collect for all school boards in the region
Published August 11, 2010
By Martin C. Barry • NEWSFIRST

Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board chairman Steve Bletas says he feels optimistic a solution can be found following a face-to-face meeting with Liberal education Minister Michelle Courchesne this week to discuss what he claims is an unfair school tax system that produces inequality between Laval’s anglophone and francophone taxpayers.
Courchesne listens
“There’s going to be an attempt to find a solution when they (the Liberals) hold a caucus at the end of August,” Bletas said in an interview with the Laval News following his meeting with Courchesne last Tuesday.
Bletas said Courchesne seemed receptive to the claims he’s been making about the school tax system. “She feels the inequity that exists should be rectified,” he said. But at the same time he had lingering doubts. “It doesn’t look promising to me, but at least she’s making an attempt.”
According to an open letter Bletas sent out to Laval taxpayers, the education ministry sets a rate known as the Produit Maximal de la Taxe Scolaire (PMT). The SWLSB also receives an equalization grant subject to the PMT. However, in order for a school board to receive the maximum amount of equalization grant, the board must tax at the maximum rate of $0.35 per $100 of property valuation. “In other words, the school board has to get as much tax as it possibly can and then the MELS makes up the difference in a grant,” Bletas wrote.
Inequalities built in
In an interview, Bletas pointed out that part of the inequality may be due to the fact that the Commission scolaire de Laval’s territory covers only the island of Laval, whereas the SWLSB’s territory extends beyond Laval far up into the Laurentian region. The CSDL has been billing at a rate of $0.30 per $100. “There’s a phenomenal amount of taxes received through the Commission scolaire de Laval,” Bletas said (adding that at least one school board in an affluent area north of Montreal is able to charge only $0.13 per $100).
Tax base being eroded
Because of the larger amount of tax the CSDL has been collecting, the board adjusted its rate downward. But Bletas claims this is discriminatory, since Laval’s English school tax payers must still pay at their higher rate. “We’ve been getting calls from people paying taxes to our school board,” he said.
“Those who have kids in our school board are obliged to pay the $0.35 per $100. Those who do not have kids have the choice to switch to pay taxes, and we’ve had requests for switches already. In other words what’s happening is we’re eroding our tax base in the English sector.”
According to Bletas, last year when the CSDL was charging $0.32 and the SWLSB was at $0.35, the government allowed the SWLSB to adjust its tax bills in such a way that the amount equaled what the CSDL was charging. But this year the government disallowed it.
Tax council needed
He notes that on the island of Montreal, the French and English school boards there are managing school taxes with an island school council which collects the tax for all the boards, which eliminates any inequality. “Why can’t we have the same thing off island?” Bletas asks.
However, following his meeting with the minister, Bletas wasn’t as certain that a council to collect school taxes would be feasible. Given that as many as eight school boards would be involved in an agreement, he wasn’t sure it could be done.