$16 million cut to public education funding and a 2% cap on school tax increases. Many parents opposed the cuts, while trustees criticized the cap as an encroachment on the autonomy of their boards. Vodrey later rejected a request from the Manitoba Association of School Trustees (MAST) to introduce wage freezes that would absorb some of the resulting financial burden, though she did agree to a separate proposal that allowed boards not to pay their staff for as many as eight professional development days. Manitoba's universities were also affected by the austerity drive, with officials at the University of Manitoba predicting layoffs and restricted access to some courses. Vodrey's decision to cap tuition increases at 5% was nevertheless described as relatively favourable to student interests. Vodrey also announced cuts to rural and northern clinician services, as well as the elimination of Manitoba's post-secondary bursary program, a 35% cut to her department's New Careers program, and a 75% surcharge on tuition fees for international students. She argued that the cuts were necessary as part of her government's response to a debt crisis. Some in the media speculated that Finance Minister Clayton Manness, rather than Vodrey, was the primary instigator of this policy. Other initiatives Vodrey unveiled a task force report on Manitoba education in April 1993, highlighted by recommendations that the province assume all costs for special-needs children and that parents be given a greater role in education. John Plohman, education critic for the opposition New Democratic Party, welcomed the report but expressed concern that many of its recommendations would never be implemented by the Filmon government. In July 1993, Vodrey established a provincial commission to review Manitoba's school division boundaries. The five-person commission was headed by former Winnipeg Mayor Bill Norrie, and was given 16 months to conduct its research. Some critics expressed concern that the commission's work would lead to fewer and larger divisions. Vodrey favoured greater cooperation with the federal government to establish national goals and standards for education. Assessments In a June 1993 editorial, Winnipeg Free Press columnist Jim Carr described Vodrey as "perhaps the biggest disappointment" in the Filmon cabinet. He characterized her treatment of school boards as "cavalier", and wrote that she had demonstrated little interest in improving the public school system. He later described her as "little more than a messenger of bad news" to school divisions and universities, while also writing that her