Home and School Federation wants school fees gone
Laura Meader | CBC News | Posted: June 13, 2017 8:00 PM | Last Updated: June 13, 2017
'What's being collected, who's it being collected from, and what's it being used for?'
The P.E.I. Home and School Federation is hoping that the school fees parents pay can eventually be eliminated.
Peter Rukavina, past president of the group, said there's a lot of mystery around the fees, and the group wants more information.
"We don't know what schools charge because there's not a reporting system for it," he said.
"We want to know what's being collected, who's it being collected from, and what's it being used for," he said.
Fees cover wide range of items
Fees can go to anything from school supplies, to special trips to locks for lockers or school agenda books. Some schools charge specific fees for athletics as well.
"There are some variety of fees throughout the system. The school would determine the fee, and levy the fee to their students," said John Cummings, director of corporate services for the P.E.I. Public Schools Branch.
Cummings said often fees for supplies are a convenience for parents — and schools can get better deals by purchasing in bulk.
"Parents would have the option to either pay the fee to have the materials on behalf of their student, or they would have the option to purchase those materials themselves."
Fees surprising for some
The Home and School Federation feels the province should cover the fees, as they're part of the cost of education.
Last year, the federation asked the province for a more official reporting system for fees, and to eventually get rid of them. The resolution also quotes the School Act, section 68 as guaranteeing "the right to free school privileges."
"To one family $30 a year might just be something they pull out of their wallet, to another family $30 a year might be a very significant piece of change," said Rukavina.
"The ability for you to receive an education should have nothing to do with the income of your family."
Allowances made for families who can't afford fees
Neither the province nor the Public Schools Branch could provide a total dollar figure for fees collected. The province said the fees usually cover "extra curricular" activities.
"I do think fees go a long way to ensuring that certain activities do continue," said Cummings.
The Public Schools Branch said allowances are made for families who can not afford the fees.
"If people do have a challenge paying the fee, schools work to ensure that it doesn't become a problem for that student," said Cummings.
"We don't hear a lot of negative comments in regard to the existing fee structures," he added.
Fees talked about in the legislature
In the speech from the throne in 2008, government said it would be working towards the elimination of fees.
"Programs offered by our schools should be equitably available to every Islander. On the basis of that understanding, my government will begin to eliminate student fees for curriculum-based activities," said the speech from Robert Ghiz's government.
"There was some elimination of some band fees and some graduation fees and then government changed, and that effort stopped," said Rukavina.
"It's now 2017, I think we've been patient," he said.
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