More Red Deer public school students sought help covering the cost of textbooks and instructional materials the past two school years.
So far in the 2009/2010 school year, 481 students have used the fee waiver program — an increase of 23 per cent from the year before.
In 2008/2009 the number of students didn’t increase as substantially, but the number of those who qualified for a full fee waiver increased dramatically, causing an increased cost of $7,800 — or 17 per cent.
Cody McClintock, associate superintendent of business services with the Red Deer Public School District, said the numbers this year continue to rise, which he attributed to the poorer economy experienced in recent years.
The fee waiver program was created by trustees a decade ago, with some of the funds received from the sale of the old South School.
The idea was to give some financial relief to families with limited financial resources to be used for instructional material, course and textbook fees. Students can be eligible for a full 100 per cent waiver or a partial 50 per cent waiver, depending on the size of the family and household income.
When the endowment ran out, trustees chose to continue supporting the program through operating expenses at the district.
Each year $50,000 is budgeted for the program.
“The idea is to ease the burden on families that are in difficult economic circumstances and the criteria for that is the Statistics Canada low income cut off or the poverty line,” said Bill Stuebing, chair of the Red Deer Public School District board, on Wednesday night.
“What we know is that eight per cent of our families are below the poverty line, but in no year have we had eight per cent of our families apply for the fee waiver program.”
The numbers of families taking part in the program are smaller than they once were because the district eliminated the fees at the elementary schools and reduced them at the middle and high schools.
“The board would consider it a successful program and it is one we take some real pride in,” Stuebing said.
sobrien@www.reddeeradvocate.com