The Government of Manitoba is asking for proposals to look at how they can improve school attendance numbers in the province.

Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen says that attendance is a key factor in student achievement.

“Students who attend school regularly are more engaged in learning, have a great sense of belonging to the community and are more likely to obtain a high school diploma,” said Goertzen. “Manitoba Education is working in partnership with parents, schools and communities to support and improve regular daily attendance for all students.”

Manitoba Education has also created an education task force, which includes community members and school division reps.

Along with the effort to improve attendance, the province announced that they will be increasing funding for public schools.

The funding will be increased by more than $6.6 million for the 2020-21 school year, to a record total of $1.33 billion.

Manitoba has the third-highest spending per student in the county at $14,733, behind Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

Goertzen said that increased funding shows the government’s commitment to student success.

“This funding is the most ever committed to public schools in Manitoba’s history,” said Goertzen. “Since 2016, funding to elementary and secondary education has grown by nearly $33 million.”

The announcement of the funding comes after the province promised to build 20 new schools in the next 10 years.

The cost of the promised schools is around $500 million.

Goertzen said that the province will also continue to ensure that all divisions receive no less than 98 percent of the operating funding they received a year earlier.