Every school division handles the issue just a bit differently, but the bottom line is this: school fees are due now and unless there are extenuating, hardship circumstances, those that are not paid will be sent to a collection agency in the new year.
“School fees are due upon registration and if they are not paid by the end of January, normally they are sent off to a collection agency,” said Karen Parasynchuk, secretary treasurer for Sturgeon School Division,
Staff members at both Greater St. Albert Catholic School Division and St. Albert Protestant School Division echoed her statement.
“The school board sets the Learning Resource Fee and then each school sets other fees,” explained Deb Schlag, secretary treasurer for Greater St. Albert Catholic School Board.
Most schools set the optional fees in consultation with their parent councils.
The average fee for an elementary aged student in all three divisions is approximately $55 to $60; for junior high students it’s $65 to $70 and for senior high students it’s approximately $110. Those fees can vary depending upon the number and kind of options a student might take.
Students taking options such as home-economics, which requires groceries, or band, which requires instruments, or outdoor-education, which requires travel on a school bus, will pay more.
“In Grade 12, students pay more because they are graduating and need a cap and gown. There may be optional school yearbook fees,” said Schlag.
Material costs are huge for the school boards, especially textbook costs.
“For example this year all the Grade 11 students required a new curriculum textbook. The cost to supply all those textbooks was between $30,000 and $40,000, just for Grade 11 math,” she said, adding that the total cost for textbooks per student is between $600 and $700.
At the same time, all three school divisions have a waiver process for low-income families, and generally it is income based.
“We also have a program for parents to pay in instalments. We allow partial payments over the next four months,” Schlag said.
While the school boards do consult with their principals to determine if families have extenuating circumstances that make paying school fees difficult, Parasynchuk offered one word of caution.
“We encourage families to pay their school fees because if they don’t and say a school ski trip comes up and suddenly the family has the wherewithal to pay for that, then of course it raises questions. It’s only fair that you pay for your child’s fees. Why should the cost of education be paid only by those parents who are diligent?” she asked.
