The chair of the provincial government's task force on school division amalgamation said local school trustees presented their views passionately to the task force when the groups met in late September.

"We've had 56 meetings (with school boards) and all presentations have demonstrated the passion that indicates the boards care about education and the communities they live in," said Fred Herron on Thursday.

"I would be surprised and disappointed if it was otherwise," he said, adding Saskatchewan is noted for caring about education.

During the meeting, South Central representatives asked questions about the transfer of property tax dollars from rural to urban schools and tax increases, while Sunrise School Division supported the province's amalgamation plans.

The province said in May it wants the number of public school divisions cut in half this year, with 5,000 students in each division. Currently, Sunrise and South Central each have about 1,000 students.

The new board proposed by the task force for the southeast would run from the U.S. and Manitoba borders west to Yellow Grass and Pangman, including South Central, Sunrise, Estevan rural and public, Souris-Moose Mountain divisions and part of Moosomin.

Herron said the task force's terms of reference, as set by the provincial government, provides for a regional sharing of the school tax assessment, and elimination of all zero grant divisions. Those are some of the premises of this amalgamation, he said.

Herron said if all zero grant divisions are to be eliminated, some divisions may see an increase in their mill rates. "But that's speculation because I don't know what money the province will put in," he said.

South Central chair Audrey Trombley said last week that based on provincial projections, the new southeast board would have lost $7 million in provincial operating grants this year if the proposed amalgamation had been in place this year.

Three of the six boards to be joined in this region would lose most of their provincial operating grants under the new arrangement. Instead of the $8.7 million they received separately this year, the new unit would have received only $1.5 million if the new division was in place.

The other three already receive no grants.

Taxpayers will have to make up that $7 million, Trombley said.

Herron said the zero grant boards "have been in a very positive position over the last number of years because they've been able to enhance their programs."

They've been able to reduce their mill rate and that money has not gone into the provincial pool, he said. "Our direction is to bring it into the provincial pool."

Herron said the task force has not been instructed to examine the impact on the Weyburn-Estevan-Carlyle economies of the loss of $7 million in provincial school operating grants every year, as part of its responsibility to draw a new school division map.

"That's not in our mandate," said Herron. But the school boards won't lose the dollars because the taxpayers in the zero grant divisions will have to pay more in property tax so the money will stay in the region, he said. South Central will share with Sunrise and the other boards.