CBE/Province and issues with school fees - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Slava · 09-17-2017, 02:23 PM

I wasn't sure what to title this thread, so apologies if it's a little ambiguous. Here's the issue though. Apparently our school isn't allowed to collect money for fees. I know...just keep the money and they'll ask when they're ready. Sounds great.

So my daughter is in band and rents an instrument. They can't collect for that either. One of the things they can't collect for is band camp though, and as a result the camp is on hold. Basically they can't collect the money. The band program doesn't have the money... so no camp!

I guess the CBE blames the province and the province blames the CBE. I have no idea who caused this and no idea why this wasn't figured out months ago. I just think that if you're in a similar situation, contact your MLA and CBE trustee to pressure them into figuring this out. It's ridiculous, and kids shouldn't miss out on things due to adults whinging and bickering.

malcolmk14 · 09-17-2017, 03:27 PM

Interesting, if it's something they collected for last year, I believe they are allowed to collect for it again as long as the price hasn't gone up more than 5%. At least that's how I understood it from my administration.

My school collected $50 last year and this year we were told to keep our field trips that we are collecting for under $52.50 per student. We are not allowed to collect ahead of time and keep a pool this year, unlike last year.

malcolmk14 · 09-17-2017, 03:29 PM

That said, there's quite a bit of ambiguity right now around fees and everyone is being very careful. The CBE is in the middle of an audit and no one wants to be the one on the front page of the paper for collecting $10 extra from kids.

Locke · 09-17-2017, 04:02 PM

You should probably be eternally grateful that your daughter cant attend Band Camp....

Theres always that 'One Time at Band Camp....'

Slava · 09-17-2017, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Locke

You should probably be eternally grateful that your daughter cant attend Band Camp....

Theres always that 'One Time at Band Camp....'

And worse, she plays the Tuba!

CliffFletcher · 09-17-2017, 06:01 PM

Wasn't the removal of school fees mandated by the NDP?

The thing we found funny is that we no longer had to pay a fee for supplies. Instead we got a list of supplies that we had to buy, and it cost more than what we paid in fees. Also, we had to go out and get it all.

Seems like one of those policies that sounds fair and compassionate in theory, but in practice has been a complete ****show.

09-17-2017, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

The thing we found funny is that we no longer had to pay a fee for supplies. Instead we got a list of supplies that we had to buy, and it cost more than what we paid in fees. Also, we had to go out and get it all.

I missed the cutoff date to order my kids supplies online (Catholic system) and had to buy everything. It cost me a little over half. We had a scwack of stuff from the year before left over, so didn't need to buy again (scissors, ruler...)

calgarygeologist · 09-17-2017, 06:23 PM

My kid's school has never had any additional fees for supplies or printing or whatever and we don't have to go out and buy anything for them. It seems like they operate fairly well.

Ducay · 09-17-2017, 07:47 PM

I probably bought, what, 10 compass sets and used them all of zero times over my school career. Those supplies lists are a joke.

You can generally get by with just some notebooks and pencils and pick up the rest as you go.

malcolmk14 · 09-17-2017, 07:51 PM

I believe all fees collected this year have to be approved by the Minister of Education. What that means for me is that I've submitted all field trip fees I plan on collecting and am awaiting a response. For your daughter that might mean the band program is just waiting for a response from the Minister before they green light the camp.

Slava · 09-17-2017, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

I believe all fees collected this year have to be approved by the Minister of Education. What that means for me is that I've submitted all field trip fees I plan on collecting and am awaiting a response. For your daughter that might mean the band program is just waiting for a response from the Minister before they green light the camp.

Which is asinine. It's halfway through September. This should have been completed in August if they now require this level of bureaucracy. It's more than that though because we know we will pay for instrument rental and they're not able to collect that either. Its sheer stupidity is what it is.

The buck passing know where the CBE says it's the province and the province says it's the board is just the icing on the cake.

GGG · 09-17-2017, 08:23 PM

You don't have more administrstors than teachers without really screwing something up. The entire upper management of the CBE should be removed.

bizaro86 · 09-17-2017, 11:23 PM

All field trips need to be submitted to the minister's office for approval. Also, if anyone needs to use the toilet you just fill this out in triplicate first, and get these two signatures notarized.

Pliddy · 09-18-2017, 03:55 AM

I just paid just over $200 in fees for my son in grade 10 and almost $250 for my 2 sons in junior high. Every option and I mean EVERY option comes with a fee. My son in grade 7 has " film studies" ( I put it in quotes because all they do is watch movies) and even that came with a $25 fee. They might have reduced school fees but user fees have more than replaced the school fees

Erick Estrada · 09-18-2017, 07:19 AM

A lot of schools do things like casinos to raise money for stuff like this. My wife says they can raise up to $8000 for the school doing a Casino night. The catch is in addition to the teachers of the school you need parents to volunteer so some schools it's not a problem and others they simply can't get enough parents that want to participate.

Slava · 09-18-2017, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

A lot of schools do things like casinos to raise money for stuff like this. My wife says they can raise up to $8000 for the school doing a Casino night. The catch is in addition to the teachers of the school you need parents to volunteer so some schools it's not a problem and others they simply can't get enough parents that want to participate.

That fundraising goes to specific programs or "needs" though. It doesn't go to things like school fees or core programs. For example it might be a playground or smart boards or things like that. I think if it was directed to reduce the fees paid by parents there might be more uptake...but maybe not. Some would prefer to cut a cheque and not work casinos.

GordonBlue · 09-18-2017, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slava

That fundraising goes to specific programs or "needs" though. It doesn't go to things like school fees or core programs. For example it might be a playground or smart boards or things like that. I think if it was directed to reduce the fees paid by parents there might be more uptake...but maybe not. Some would prefer to cut a cheque and not work casinos.

I admit that if I was financially able to, I'd be more than happy to just cut the cheque and never work any of those things.

calgarygeologist · 09-18-2017, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

A lot of schools do things like casinos to raise money for stuff like this. My wife says they can raise up to $8000 for the school doing a Casino night. The catch is in addition to the teachers of the school you need parents to volunteer so some schools it's not a problem and others they simply can't get enough parents that want to participate.

Our school does a lot of fundraising. They do a casino every two or three years and lots of other sales and dances and stuff.

CliffFletcher · 09-18-2017, 09:15 AM

Casinos are the single biggest fundraiser Calgary schools have. Schools have to wait their turn for the casino cash cow, and they're booked out years in advance. I've worked a couple of them, and they're not bad. The downside is being completely bagged the next day at work after doing the 9 pm to 1 am shift.

Lubicon · 09-18-2017, 10:30 AM

We paid around $400 in fees this year (two kids in high school), down from close to $1000 last year. Yeah, pretty much every option has fees and yes, there is a fee for band camp this year at our school. Some of them are refundable at the end of the year (deposits for textbooks, lockers etc.) some are for supplies required for options.