Parents of kids in alternative programs to pay more for public school busing

By Richard Cuthbertson, Calgary Herald
The prospect of major bus fee hikes this fall for parents of nearly 10,000 public schoolchildren in alternative programs is stoking fears that some families will pull their kids from programs such as French immersion because they are too expensive.

Under a new fee regime released by the Calgary Board of Education on Thursday, it will cost parents $510 to bus an elementary student in an alternative program and have them supervised over lunch — a 72 per cent increase from the current $295.

For a full list of the CBE fees, see: http://www.cbe.ab.ca/New/feature/2011-2012/pdf/fees/BR_Full_Fees_Report_for_April17.pdf

It is the most significant shift in fees in years at the public board, a scheme that will see some parents paying much more, but many others paying less.


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