A report has found that operational spending for Saskatchewan schools is decreasing.

The report found that operational spending for schools in the province has decreased 5.7 per cent in recent years when adjusting for inflation and enrolment growth – the biggest drop in the country, according to the report conducted by the Fraser Institute.

Saskatchewan was one of three provinces to see its operational spending decrease, as both Alberta (-5.3%) and Newfound & Labrador (-4.8%) also saw smaller decreases than the Land of the Living Skies.

In terms of total money spent on education, Saskatchewan only saw an increase of 0.7 per cent, the second-lowest among any province.

Operational spending is described by the report’s author as showing how much is being spent to keep the lights on and keep teachers and other educational staff paid.

The report was conducted from 2014 to 2019, and also found that Saskatchewan was once paying close to $16,000 for every student enrolled, a number that dropped to over $14,000.

In that time frame, enrolment did grow in the province grew by 5.5 per cent, compared to the national average of 3.2 per cent. The enrollment growth puts the province second among provinces.