Calgary Board of Education says fee refunds won't come until May or June

The Calgary Board of Education says it will be at least one more month until parents start seeing fees refunded.

In-person classes have been cancelled since March 16 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the CBE said last week that it's still working to refund fees paid for the period from March 16 to June 30.

"We understand many of our families have lost income and need access to these refunds," the board said in a statement posted to its website.

"Refunding fees for so many families has never been done before. While we finalize our processing and refund options, we and our business partners are also facing the same issues as many Canadians. The need for social distancing, self isolation and global transitioning to a work-from-home model means a longer response time for us and all of our partners."

Refunds for transportation and noon supervision will begin in May, the board said, but school fees will take longer to refund and are expected to be completed by June — the CBE said further information will be provided by school principals once it becomes available.

Those fees could include items like in-school guest speakers and special events.

The CBE is also working to recoup fees from cancelled field trips in Calgary, across Canada and abroad.

In early March, before the province reported its first case of COVID-19, the board cancelled six upcoming trips abroad.

The CBE said it's working with tour operators to determine which fees are refundable and will submit an insurance claim on behalf of parents for cancelled trips. 

"Unfortunately, we expect this will take some months as our insurance providers are dealing with multiple claims from many school boards on the same issue," the CBE said. 

A further update is expected later this month.