No major changes in school fees next year
There shouldn’t be any surprises for parents with the fees and deposits required for school next year.
At the May 29 board of trustees meeting, the schedule of fees and deposits for the 2012-13 school year was passed with little trouble.
Education programs and planning committee chair Brenda Hooker said many of the fees and deposits were the same as last year, with two additions for new specialty academies.
“We are adding the Mackenzie Secondary Hockey Academy and the Canadian Sport School at UNBC this year, so each of them had to have its fees set.”
It appears, however, the Mackenzie Hockey Academy will not be going ahead this fall.
“There was interest from parents when it was first proposed,” Hooker says, “but not enough people put down their deposits to make it viable for this fall.”
What was disappointing about that, to her, was that apparently nobody thought to ask about other possibilities for paying.
“We ask a lot of questions of administration when they bring the fees proposals forward. One thing we always ask about is equity possibilities, for people who can’t afford the full fee.
“In the case of the Mackenzie Hockey Academy, apparently nobody approached us about equity.”
In some cases, such as for Netbooks as part of a pilot project in the district, there is a deposit required at the beginning of the school year. The deposit is refunded when the item is returned.
Some other items may be required by specific schools, such as a student planner. Hooker says in cases like this, the items are priced as low as possible.
“We by as a district, so we can get a very good rate, and we operate on a cost-recovery basis to keep the cost to students as low as possible.”
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