School Fees

General Information

  • Under district regulations, all fees must be justified. Schools may only charge up to the maximum set by the district.
  • Cheques are made payable to the school.
  • Parents with financial concerns or other issues with fees are encouraged to discuss these with the principal.
  • Parents are responsible for NSF cheque charges to the school
  • Parents will be notified if an extraordinary opportunity arises for appropriate educational activities, at an additional cost.
  • There is a separate transportation fee form for eligible students.
  • Fees charged for new registrants, or refunded for students withdrawing, will be pro-rated at the rate of 1/10th per month, except for the fixed portion of the fee. The fixed portion will be charged and will not be refunded. It is made up of items which are distributed to students at the beginning of the year, or when they register, and which cannot be either returned or reissued. At a minimum, it includes the agenda.
  • The fees have been discussed with and approved by school council.


Calgary Catholic School District Fee Principles for 2012-2013 

  • Schools should strive to have the lowest fees possible.
  • There will be no fees for basic instructional resources for core courses (Math, Social Studies, English, Science, Religion) excluding high school textbooks and software, where these are rented. Schools must ensure fees for core courses are for enhancements only.
  • There must be provisions at each school to waive fees for students who cannot pay. These provisions must be communicated clearly and explicitly to parents and students.
  • All fees must be justified and have the endorsement of the school community (a signature of school council Chair is required annually).
  • School fees must only be used for the purpose for which they were collected. No profit from school fees is allowed. Fees should be spent in the year in which they are collected. Schools shall specify to the school council, in the event of an unanticipated surplus, appropriate measures for disbursement of these funds. This should be recorded in school council minutes.
  • Schools shall distribute to parents, at the same time as the fee schedules are distributed, an indication of any additional fees that may be collected during the year. This should include fees that are collected subsequently, for such activities as field trips, and be as accurate as possible. The listing should detail what each fee is for and the approximate fee amount. As much as possible, schools should specify on the fee schedule, when the fee would be collected and total fees to be collected.
  • Schools will be reviewed annually through ACORN to report on subsequent fees collected after initial fee schedules. As part of the year end process, the schools will receive a list of those fees recorded during the year and will need to verify that the list is complete and accurate.
  • Field trips must be planned well in advance and parents given appropriate notice. Additionally, the number of field trips each student is involved in must be of a reasonable number and have a strong curriculum fit. Field trips should be analysed for cost/benefit related to improved student achievement, and must comply with the district’s field trip regulation.
  • Fees for student selected courses should be consistent for all similar type course offerings for schools in the same division in the district (i.e., CTS, PE, Art, etc.). Principals will collaborate in meeting this recommendation in their Family of Schools. Schools that provide CTS instruction to students from a different school must ensure CTS fees are the same between schools.
  • Schools should be sensitive to, and monitor carefully, the number of school activities that would involve requesting funds from parents (i.e., pizza days, book clubs, fundraisers, field trips, school supplies, etc.).


Guidelines and Recommendations for Handling Fee Monies from Parents/Students

  • Schools shall not use the term “mandatory” or “compulsory” for fees.
  • The district fee form templates for each division must be used to set and show approval of fees by the principal and school council Chair.
  • Fee items that are included in the General Fee category shall not be included in any other fee category i.e., agendas must be included in the General Fee category and cannot be charged as an extended fee.
  • Fees collected for materials and resources must be used for “the students’ personal use or consumption, and to enhance the quality and relevance of education for learners”. Fees must be used for consumable materials and resources, NOT equipment. Fees MUST NOT be used to purchase equipment and non-consumables. Schools are expected to use a portion of their scale of issue budget to cover costs of instructional resources.
  • Schools must ensure that noon supervision fees DO NOT exceed district maximums ($80/yr.) and that a “family discount” for multiple children is offered.
  • Under the School Act, schools cannot charge fees for “instructional services”. Therefore, under the Noon Hour Supervision fee, schools must not refer to “classroom assistant time” or “student support in the classrooms”. Schools must remove any perception that parents are paying for a teacher’s assistant rather than for lunch supervision. Recommended commentary could be: “for assistants to be on duty to assist with the continued safety and security of all students.”
  • Effective in the 2012-2013 school year, the district’s new fee module, ACORN, will be used to track and summarize the collection of fees. Invoices for each student will be produced from ACORN by each school, detailing the fees charged, as well as additional items. The Fee Module and Online Payment (FMOP) steering group has been set up to guide this project.
  • A new feature of ACORN is the option for parents to pay fees online, using MasterCard, Visa and debit cards. The district and schools should encourage this method of payment as a convenience for parents, as well as reducing administrative burden for school staff, especially at key times during the year.
  • Effective in the 2012-2013 school year, all general fees, curricular and extra curricular fees and optional charges will be held at the district level. The fees collected through the online payment process and by in-school payments will be accessible to schools through their scale of issue budget. This change in practice allows the district to fully utilize the ACORN Fee Module system and will provide better district and government reporting.
  • Fees paid by cheque or cash are to be recorded in ACORN and deposited into the school bank account (exception transportation – see below), and subsequently be remitted, along with documentation, to Central Office on a timely basis. These fees should be recorded in a due to Central Office account, not a Fee account.
  • The registration process for 2012-2013 transportation started in May 2012 and forms part of the pilot program for the new fee module ACORN, using the online payment feature for parents. Fees paid by cheque are to be submitted directly to Central Office for deposit. Further information was included in the 2012-2013 Transportation package to schools.
  • Fees cannot be made payable to a school council or to a society. A society or school council cannot collect or deposit to their bank account, district fees.
  • All monies collected at the school shall not leave the school except for the sole purpose of depositing them in the bank account. Monies cannot be removed from the premises for the purpose of counting. For the protection of staff and volunteers, and for double verification of funds, monies should be counted with a minimum of two individuals present.
  • All monies shall be deposited regularly. The duties of preparing and making the deposit must be separated, so that the same person does not undertake both tasks. Monies shall be deposited when funds in the school equal $500 or, if there is less than $500, deposits shall be made at least once a week.
  • Fees are expected to be collected on a cost recovery basis. Surpluses exceeding 3% of fees collected require prior written approval from the secretary-treasurer, as per regulation DIF. Plans for use of fee surpluses should be documented with school council and should meet all other fee guidelines.
  • Schools cannot issue tax receipts for “fees for service”. A fee shall not be treated as a donation, nor shall a tax receipt be issued under the guise of a fee being a donation. Requests for donations shall not appear on school fee forms. Donations must be given with no expectation of anything in return.


Calgary Catholic School District Fee Guidelines 2012-2013

General Fees
Resources, materials, services will be provided for all students, excluding textbooks.  Fees must be clearly justified.

Kindergarten General Fee – (To a maximum - $10.00)

Elementary Schools - (To a maximum - $20.00)

The following items may be included:

  • Agenda 
  • Newsletters 
  • Activities/Presentations
  • Materials/Resources  
  • Other miscellaneous items
     

Junior High Schools – (To a maximum -  $35.00)
The following items may be included:

  • Agenda 
  • Activities/Presentations/Celebrations 
  • Newsletters/Materials/Resources 
  • Other miscellaneous items

Senior High Schools – (To a maximum - $45.00)
The following items may be included:

  • Agenda 
  • Locks 
  • Postage/Newsletters 
  • Student ID 
  • Activities/Presentations/Celebrations/Student Council 
  • Materials/Resources 
  • Other miscellaneous items

Note:  Textbook/Software Rental – High Schools  - Textbook rental is an additional service provided to students.

Instructional Resource Fees

  • Resources and materials for enhanced programs.
  • Includes CTS Fee in Junior High
  • Must be reasonable within the context of all fees collected.


Activity Fees 

  • Field trips and presentations for enhanced programs.
  • Must be reasonable within the context of all fees collected. 
  • Includes core subjects and student selected courses in Junior High
     

PLEASE NOTE: Annual total of General Fees, Instructional Resource Fees, Activity Fees, and monies collected subsequently for curricular field trips are not to exceed $90 for Kindergarten, $95 for Elementary and $150 for Junior High.
High.

Noon Supervision Fee

  • To a maximum of $8.00/student/month, with consideration given for a family discount.  (A family consists of two or more children)
  • School communities may establish lunchroom fees that address their local needs within this maximum.

 

District Music Fee

The district has currently in place a common “Music Fee” for both junior and senior high schools set at:
$100: Instrument rental

Textbook/Software Rental Fee - $120.00
Effective September 2010, this fee includes textbooks and compulsory work books.

District Regulations:
DIF: School Generated Funds (Including Fees)
DIF-E(1): School Fees in the Calgary Catholic School District


Fee Forms:
2012-2013 Full-Day Kindergarten
2012-2013 Half-Day Kindergarten 
2012-2013 Elementary
2012-2013 Junior High
2012-2013 Senior High (without payment information)