INNISFAIL - School board officials in Innisfail and area say the provincial government's plan to slash mandatory textbook and transportation fees is a step in the right direction, but want to see the fine print to ensure there are no hidden costs that will adversely impact budgets.
"We are very appreciative of the intent of this government. Our practice has always been to support those families that fall below the poverty line by waiving their fees," said Kurt Sacher, superintendent of schools for the Chinook's Edge School Division, of the recently tabled Bill 1. "It's just when you make a change like that and if you are not really careful how you go about that change there could be other implications. We still have not been given convincing data one way or another as to how they will compensate school divisions on the loss of revenue when they don't bring in those fees."
Sacher noted the province has set aside more than $50 million to compensate for the revenue loss, but if that is not enough school divisions will have to pick up the difference, a scenario that could result in cuts to programs and even staffing.
"We just don't know. We need to see the detailed fine print," said Sacher. "In the past we have seen different governments where they've indicated something will be fully funded, but you read the fine print and there are certain pieces that aren't. We are a little bit nervous that we may have some deficits we have to pick up."
Guy Pelletier, chair of the board of trustees for Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools, also said Bill 1 is a welcome move for families but was unsure how the legislation's transportation component will impact his board. The bill proposes to prevent school boards from charging fees for busing students who are more than 2.4 kilometres from their designated schools. Pelletier said no fees are currently charged for students who lives 2.4 kilometres away or more, while there are charges for those who live between 1.6 and 2.4 kilometres away from school.
"Until the details really come out on how that works I am not sure how that is going to impact us," said Pelletier.
Bill 1 was tabled in the Alberta legislature on March 2, and the plan is to have it implemented for the 2017-18 school year. If passed, parents will no longer have to pay school fees for instructional supplies or materials. Fees will also be waived for eligible students taking the bus to their schools. The government says the total savings of Bill 1 for Alberta families is about $54 million a year.
About $2.5 million in total fees is charged by Chinook's Edge to all division families, with about $800,000 of that covering basic instructional materials, including those for textbooks, workbooks, photocopying, printing or paper supplies. For families in Innisfail, Bill 1 could bring a total savings of about $60,000. Penhold families could see a total savings of about $45,000. In Bowden, school costs for families could be cut by about $20,000.
Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools now collects a total of about $600,000 a year in instructional fees, with transportation fees adding another $150,000. Pelletier said he could not speak specially to the savings for families of Innisfail's St. Marguerite Bourgeoys Catholic School, but noted parents are now paying annual $30 fees for each kindergarten student, $65 for each child in elementary school and $100 for each youth in middle school.
"If you have four kids it (savings) could be three to four hundred dollars," said Pelletier.
Meanwhile, Sacher said Chinook's Edge won't know until March 16, when the province is expected to announce full financial details on Bill 1, whether there will be any impacts to his division's $128-million overall budget. He added there are also ongoing discussions continuing between division officials and the province that could yield more specifics on how the government will compensate divisions for lost fee revenues.
"What they are trying to do is good for Alberta families," said Sacher. "It's just when they say they are going to compensate us for the difference, we want to see the specifics and we want to see the numbers add up and there's not some missing and hidden costs, which we have seen in the past."
Kurt Sacher, superintendent of schools for the Chinook's Edge School Division
"We need to see the detailed fine print. In the past we have seen different governments where they've indicated something will be fully funded, but you read the fine print and there are certain pieces that aren't."
