\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t RUTH BONNEVILLE \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n \u201cWe have many families who give to the Winnipeg School Division,\u201d said Winnipeg School Division Superintendent Matt Henderson told the board of trustees on June 1.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have many families who give to the Winnipeg School Division,\u201d Henderson told the board of trustees at its latest public meeting on June 1.<\/p>\n \u201cMany of (them) do not want to be named, but we have long-standing relationships and we appreciate that.\u201d<\/p>\n He made those comments after briefing the Wall Street boardroom on internal plans to continue programs funded through the Schroeder Foundation.<\/p>\n Walter and Maria Schroeder have gifted millions to the division they both attended as children.<\/p>\n Their national foundation has paid for meal programs, scholarships and outreach co-ordinators, among other financial and in-kind donations organized by its Terra Bay Advisory Committee.<\/p>\n The Schroeder family took a particular interest in funding initiatives at St. John\u2019s, Sisler and Daniel McIntyre high schools. While many donations have been accompanied by news releases and events, others \u2014 including Walter\u2019s support for trustee candidates<\/a> and offer to reinstate the police-in-schools program<\/a> \u2014 were made with little fanfare.<\/p>\n The Manitoba government introduced new campaign financing rules ahead of this year\u2019s school board elections after the Free Press revealed the Toronto-based philanthropist was backing nominees in 2022.<\/p>\n Terra Bay co-hosted a news conference on May 27 to announce a new $1.5-million commitment to bolster nutrition and outreach programming in north Winnipeg\u2019s Seven Oaks School Division.<\/p>\n \u201cTerra Bay wants to continue to support young people in ways that public education cannot and we are humbled by the warm welcome we have received from the board and the management team of the Seven Oaks School Division,\u201d advisory committee chair Duane Brothers said in an email.<\/p>\n Brothers said his committee had \u201cgreat relationships\u201d in the schools it supported in central Winnipeg and remains proud of its contributions.<\/p>\n The foundation is pleased the Winnipeg School Division remains open to philanthropy and believes it is \u201ca good thing\u201d if others want to contribute, he said.<\/p>\n (Fort Rouge trustee Lois Brothers is his former partner; she has a declared conflict of interest with the charity.)<\/p>\n The Winnipeg School Division indicated its in-house charity \u2014 the Children\u2019s Heritage Education Endowment Fund \u2014 received $3,074,507 between Jan. 1, 2025 and May 31. The Schroeder Foundation contributed more than $2 million of that sum.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a great relationship for nine years but we want to move in a different direction,\u201d the chief superintendent said Tuesday.<\/p>\n Henderson\u2019s office previously released a statement saying its donor partnerships \u201care most successful when they are aligned with our values, grounded in trust and allow school leaders to determine how best to meet student needs.\u201d<\/p>\n People for Public Education has highlighted inequities caused by school fundraising since a group of educators, academics and parents established the grassroots group in 2022.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cIt is abhorrent that public schools are forced to take private funding to feed students,\u201d organizer Melanie Janzen said in a statement outlining the collective\u2019s take on recent developments involving Terra Bay.<\/p>\n A professor of curriculum, teaching and learning at the University of Manitoba, Janzen said school leaders searching for external funding is a symptom of \u201ca poorly funded school system.\u201d<\/p>\n Henderson told trustees last week that the division is using provincial funds to hire two outreach workers and expand its partnership with Peaceful Village, along with making other adjustments to fill programming gaps.<\/p>\n The division updated its school fundraising policy in 2024 to prohibit parent councils from collecting donations for textbooks, field trips and any other line items that aren\u2019t \u201coutside of the purview of public education.\u201d<\/p>\n maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Maggie Macintosh Maggie Macintosh reports on education for the Free Press. Originally from Hamilton, Ont., she first reported for the Free Press in 2017. Read more about Maggie<\/a>.<\/p>\n Funding for the Free Press education reporter comes from the Government of Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Maggie produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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Education reporter
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