Another fee increase for public school parents?
Posted May 14, 2011 10:47 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Already facing the prospect of a 60 percent increase in bussing fees, parents of Calgary public school students could be staring at another fee hike.
Officials with the Calgary Board of Education are recommending to trustees that lunch room supervision fees be given a 40 percent boost from $200 a year to $280.
The recommendation comes despite legal advice from the law firm McLeod Dixon that the CBE may not have the legal authority to charge the lunch room fee.
Even Education Minister Dave Hancock says the lunch fee is only appropriate in cases in which it’s possible for the student to walk home for lunch.
In addition to bussing and lunch fees, parents of students are also hit with an annual fee of up to $132 for instructional materials.
A Calgary lawyer says for the past eight years, hundreds of parents have refused to pay the annual instructional fees. They’re hoping to force a court battle over the issue.
