Parents will find themselves a little more flush with cash this September.
Parents will find themselves a little more flush with cash this September.
Bill 1, which restricts what school fees can be charged to parents, became law last week and it means some parents will be saving hundreds of dollars when school resumes this fall.
The new legislation will remove many of the standard fees paid at the beginning of the year.
The Province no longer allows school boards to charge for textbooks, paper handouts or copying, as well as blanket field trip fees. They've also disallowed charging bus fees for students living outside 2.4 kilometres of their school and for Kindergarten students travelling home over the noon hour and special needs students.
“Our government is reducing school fees as we work to protect and improve education and make life better for Alberta families,” said Education Minister David Eggen. “These fees have gone unregulated for too long and most significant increases will now require my review and approval. We will continue to work with parents, school boards and other education partners to make even further reductions to fees in the years ahead.”
Both local school divisions will receive funding from the Province to offset what they will lose in fees.
“We think it's going to be a wash with what the Province is providing in funding,” said Drew Chipman, assistant superintendent of corporate services for Foothills School Division.
Chipman said many parents have the impression that schools will not be able to charge any fees, but that is not the case. Schools are also allowed to charge for field trips, sports teams and extra-curricular activities, but this year have to submit all such fees by the end of June for approval.
“The ministry is going to look at every single fee and determine if they are appropriate,” Chipman said.
Principals are getting a list of potential extra-curricular fees ready, Chipman said.
Any activity with a fee not submitted by this June will require approval by the ministry or the cost will have to be paid by the school.
Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools associate superintendent Michael Kilcommons said fees they charge at the beginning of the year have been eliminated. CTR Catholic was charging $50 in Kindergarten fees, $65 fees for Grade 1-6, $80 for Grades 7-9 and $115 for Grades 10-12. There was a family maximum of $170 for fees.
Kilcommons said he supports further reducing school fees.
“Its great parents have will be able to pay a little less,” he said.
Kilcommons said the division has also told principals to get rid of fees for optional courses such as cooking and woodworking. He said a couple of years ago a number of CTR Catholic schools already eliminated those fees and some had just cut them in half.
“Direction has been given to not charge for those courses,” he said.
However, students who want to go beyond what is provided will need to pay for the difference, Kilcommons said.
“If someone is in woodworking and they are building a birdhouse and (the student) wants to build a bookcase or they want to upgrade to mahogany, they have to pay for that,” he said.
