EnMasse

DSquared

Amy Grace · Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2006 5:15 pm Post subject:

Good! I suppose it's true that field trips will either not happen or have to rely on more fundraising (though I'd hope that out-of-class trips can still be charged to the students... like the multi-week overseas ones), but the other programs are pretty much necessary for what would be considered a "rounded" education... Music and shop class and the like.

In my grade 12 year, my parents paid about 300$ in mandatory school fees. The costs were for things like gown rental, even though we were using the ones that the school owned. In previous years, it ranged from 20$ to a couple hundred I guess, if you don't count the trip I took to Central America (outside of class; it was just a group of students all from my school).

fork · Posted: Tue Oct 03, 2006 8:40 pm Post subject:

". . .my parents paid about 300$ in mandatory school fees."

Shocked

Wow. Could this be the reason for the ruling in BC, that things got out of hand?

Yes, I'm sure schools will now say they can't pay for field trips and they'll have to be cancelled. Which is unfortunate because I'm guessing that trips are only a small part of the costs that education departments have been off-loading onto parents.

My pet peeves:
1. Agendas: Coiled notebooks/calendars to write homework in for the day. Students are individually charged 6 bucks; I'm not sure how much is "subsidized" by the Home and School Association (funding: parents). A duotang filled with looseleaf or generic lined notebook would work just as well - cost: less than a buck.

2. Math workbooks: These were introduced about 3 years ago. There must be something that prevents schools from charging for textbooks, so these must be a separate category. I wouldn't mind so much if they were honest and said that it made things easier for the teachers (with the prefab assignments), but it was sold as something that parents were demanding as an aid to helping their kid with their homework. Mandatory, even for those who aren't having trouble with math. Also 5 or 6 bucks for something that would cost a buck at the dollar store.

3. Locker and lock rental: This year my eldest started middle school and that was one of the charges. The school supplies the locks and issues the combination to the kids (so the school can have locker access without resorting to cutting off locks?) Locker rental? What's next, desk rental?

4. Skiing: This was cancelled, but only because a girl died, not because of the cost. Students used to go during school hours. An expensive sport like skiing is a bizarre choice for We-have-no-money New Brunswick. Now they just do skating and swimming, which is great. And I would eagerly pay extra to finance those that can't afford it.

5. Fundraisers: OK, this is a bit off topic, but these make no sense. It's not hard to see who's the main beneficiary of these schemes (not bake sales, but the magazine subscriptions and junk). I was listening to a radio show on this topic and a man called in. He and his wife operated a business that supplied items for school fundraisers, sort of an intermediary between companies and schools. I was shocked that someone could actually make a living doing this.

Rant over.

bshmr · Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2011 12:58 am Post subject:

Here's a USAn way to find money for those 'extras', via a tangential story line: