The numbers are in: property owners in Alberta will be paying more money this year when the tax bill comes due after the province upped its school requisition tax to help cover costs incurred by increased enrolment.
Across the Athabasca-Barrhead-Westlock constituency, the requisition is going up by an average of 10.25 per cent, with the largest average increases coming in Westlock County, and the County of Barrhead, who’ll both see an increase of 13 per cent.
“The last couple years have put quite a lot of strain on our education system and so there had to be a lot discussion about how do we face, and overcome, the record enrolment growth,” said area MLA Glenn van Dijken.
“There’s been significant money allocated for school builds, but also recognizing the need for hiring another 4,000 educational staff across the province.”
The requisition funds don’t stay local. After being collected by the municipalities at the same time property taxes are, the funds get passed along to the province who redistributes the money as it sees fit.
Village of Boyle Mayor Colin Derko said the change will cost village residents about $20,000 in 2025 — saying the community didn’t mind paying taxes, as long as they weren’t being wasted.
“We do need to pay for these services; the reality is that taxes are a necessity. I’m more interested in responsible spending of our taxes,” he said.
“Right now we’re seeing all the support workers striking because of what they’re being paid and honestly I don’t think they’re wrong. They’re not being compensated fairly. But where does that money come from?”
Derko said he would love to see the smaller schools in Athabasca County, including Boyle School and Grassland School, see more funding from the province, which announced funding to update and build over 100 schools in the next seven years.
“I believe Albertans don’t mind paying those kinds of taxes. Right now everyone is upset, but it’s just because they’re tired of being overtaxed. The schools aren’t the ones to pick on. They need it, and we need it as a society. We need strong schools, we need an education and we need strong healthcare,” he said.
“Those other taxes, that exist because the government is frivolous with their spending, those are the ones that are hurting us.”
Barrhead ready for bigger bill
County of Barrhead finance director Tamara Molzahan said the increase means the municipality must collect an additional $337,414 ratepayers in the form of property tax.
The mill rate for education taxes in 2024 was 2.5232 for residential and farmland and 3.3378 for non-residential. In 2025, it will increase to 2.6777 for residential and farmland and 3.4036 for non-residential.
"Considering only education taxes, the additional cost per $100,000 of assessment will be an increase of $15.45 for residential and farmland property taxes and an increase of $6.58 for non-residential property taxes," Molzahn said. "Increases to education property taxes and other provincial flow throughs, such as the Police Funding Model, create challenges to produce a balanced budget while keeping taxes reasonable. When setting the annual municipal mill rate, council considers the budget, financial and capital plans, requisitioned tax increases, and the economy. Increases in education taxes will decrease the tax dollars available for municipal purposes."
She added council would review the 2025 budget and municipal mill rates at an upcoming workshop.
The County of Barrhead is expected to approve its property tax bylaw, including mill rates, at the April 15 council meeting.
On the Town of Barrhead side, corporate services director Jennifer Mantay said the increase in the province school requisition rate would require the municipality to collect an extra $159,426.
In 2024, the town collected $1,425,575 on the province's behalf. In 2025, they need to collect $1,585,002.
Mantay said the school tax rate for residential properties will be 2.6563, up from 2.5129. This will result in an increase of $14.34 for every $100,000 of residential assessment.
The school tax rate for non-residential properties will be 3.6691, up from the previous 3.5725. This will result in an increase of $9.66 for every $100,000 of non-residential assessment.
Mantay cautioned that the estimates were only a preliminary calculation and only included the school requisition, saying the municipality had yet to receive the requisition amount for Barrhead and District Social Housing.
She also said the calculations are subject to change pending any revisions to the municipal assessment from the town's assessors.
"When speaking budget, requisitions do not affect the town's overall budget. The entities tell us what their requisition amount is [whether it be the province for school requisition or the Barrhead and District Social Housing Association], and we increase those tax rates to collect those requisitions," Mantay said. "So the 'town' is not paying for those requisitions. Our taxpayers pay them through their property taxes."
Town of Barrhead councillors approved the municipality's final 2025 budget at their Jan. 14 meeting.
At the time, Mantay noted finance staff created the budget using the tentative tax rate for residential and non-residential properties of 8.9 and 14.8 per cent, respectively.
