Families struggling with the cost of school supplies get some help

The Nova Scotia government is topping up income assistance payments on Aug. 29 to assist families struggling with the impact of inflation on the cost of school supplies.

The move announced last week came two months after the Strait Regional Centre for Education confirmed it would expand its own program to all facilities within its district. The centre includes Richmond and Inverness counties in Cape Breton, as well as Guysborough and Antigonish counties in mainland Nova Scotia. 

Community Services Minister Brendan Maguire said in a statement that the one-time increase is designed to reduce the strain felt by many families at this time of year.

"A larger, one-time payment for the upcoming school year will help offset some of those costs for our clients, so they can focus on getting their children off to school," Maguire stated.

The payment for children aged 13 to 18 will increase from $160 to $200, while the payment for children aged five to 12 will increase from $80 to $100. Children who turned four by the end of December 2023 and are eligible for pre-primary in the fall will now receive a $100 payment.

'The prices of things have tripled'

While the Strait Regional Centre for Education's program doesn't cover all school supplies, this fall will mark the first time the district will offer specific supplies to every student in the system. Students are only required to bring their own backpack, lunch box, headphones or earbuds, indoor sneakers for physical education classes, and a water bottle.

In a statement, Paul Landry, the regional executive director of education, said the increased funding followed consultations with school staff that suggested such a decision "would help families, particularly in light of the increasing cost of many goods and services."

Lacey LaRade has seen the issue from both sides.

LaRade has two children attending East Richmond Education Centre in St. Peter's. She is also a teacher at another Richmond County school, Arichat's Ecole Beau-Port, which falls under the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial. It does not have a system-wide school supplies program.

She said that as a teacher, she looks at the minimum she can ask parents to provide for their students. As a parent, she likes that schools have some resources at hand.

"Post-COVID, the prices of things have tripled, and it's so nice — even as a school — to have that pocket of supplies," she said. "So if Johnny doesn't have a pencil, to be able to give them that, very easily, is incredible."  

'A panic for parents' in Sydney area 

At Every Woman's Centre, a not-for-profit group in Sydney, volunteers have already surpassed the average of 350 families that typically receive the centre's bags of school supplies.

Wanda Earhart, the centre's manager of programming, estimates that close to 650 students within the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education will benefit from the program this year.

Earhart said only a few families participated in the program when it began 30 years ago.

Unlike the Strait Regional school system, the Cape Breton-Victoria system doesn't have a universal school supplies program for all of its schools. That has led volunteer organizations to fill the gaps.

"I've heard some discussions online about it, and parents wondering why it's not happening here," said Earhart.

"Unless there's another way for parents to access supplies for their children, especially if there's more than one child [in a family], then they'll have to turn somewhere for help.… So there's definitely always going to be a need there. It's a panic for parents at this stage of the summer."

The Cape Breton-Victoria system did not respond to interview requests.