School boards across Saskatchewan are making big cuts with some boards implementing a new “lunchtime supervision” fee for the next school year..The reason for the supervision fees is some school boards claim they do not have enough money from the Saskatchewan government to run the schools and have to add in additional fees to balance their budgets..Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS), Regina Catholic School Division (RCSD), and Saskatoon Public Schools (SPS) will introduce lunchtime supervision fees in September. .Diane Boyko, GSCS board chair, said that the provincial government education funding has not increased with inflation, enrolment, and costs for several years, but it is now affecting classrooms..“There’s been that awareness all along. We’ve managed and we’ve managed. And then we’ve gotten to that circumstance now that there is no more room to manage,” said Boyko..Last Friday, Premier Scott Moe said that school boards have “ample reserves” and should not be charging for lunchtime supervision..“The education minister has mentioned that there are ample reserves in many, if not all, of the school divisions across the province,” said Moe..“Before a school division is going to charge parents additional dollars for noon hour recess … they most certainly should be looking at using some of the reserves that have been growing in the last few years.”.Not all school boards have “ample reserves” as Moe said..Shawn Davidson, president of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association, pointed out that some boards drained their reserves over the past five years because of provincial underfunding..“Some of the boards that have had to make some of those more difficult decisions have already drawn down their reserves over the course of the last five years of chronic underfunding of education,” said Davidson..”Some of them did have some larger savings that they are able to draw on. And those divisions that do have those reserves are largely doing that.".A $70 per year per student fee will apply to the GSCS and RCSD students..For GSCS and RCSD kindergarten students who attend half-time, the fee is $35 per year, and they capped fees at $140 per family..Seven RCSD schools are excluded because of a short 30-minute lunch break. Those schools are Holy Rosary, Sacred Heart, St. Augustine, St. Francis, St. Michael, St. Maria Faustina, and St. Luke..There is no provision to help lower-income families pay for or be excluded from paying the GSCS or RCSD lunchtime supervision fees..The SPS charges $100 per student, and they capped the fee at $200 for families with over two students and an exception for low-income families..Since 2016, the Regina Public School Division (RPSD) has had a supervision fee of $100 per student with a $200 limit for families with over two students.
