A day after an Edmonton school district voted to scrap school fees for the next year, many parents were happy with the news, but school officials are concerned.
On Tuesday night, the Edmonton Catholic School Board voted unanimously to waive basic fees for the 2016-17 school year, a move that will save families between $50 and hundreds of dollars per child.
The decision will cost the district $7 million – and is coming out of the operating budget for next year. School officials are concerned about the years to come.
“It is a pilot, it will put pressure on the district, we realize that,” Edmonton Catholic School Board Chair Marilyn Bergstra said.
Looking forward, the Board doesn’t want to bring the fees back, and they said help covering those costs is needed from the province.
“I call strongly on the government to look at what they have and keep their promise,” ECSD Board member Cindy Olson said.
That promise was made during the election campaign, when the government pledged to cut all school fees in half.
Last September, the province said the change to fees wouldn’t happen for the current school year.
Premier Rachel Notley and Education Minister David Eggen both called the decision a good gesture, but wouldn’t commit further funding.
“We have a policy for school fee reductions, but not in this budget,” Eggen said. “We’ll be looking at other ways to reduce school fees.”
In a statement to CTV News, Edmonton Public Schools said a decision would not be made about possible fee reductions until the provincial budget is released.
With files from Dan Grummett
