School fees going up for some Chinook’s Edge families

Several schools north of Airdrie within Chinook's Edge School Division will see an increase in school fees.

At its latest board meeting on April 8, the Board approved increases to school fees for families due to increasing costs.

The changes according to the division go as follows:

• $50 increase per student for students requiring transportation to school and who do not receive full provincial funding due to the distance from their home to school. The fee for partially funded students (1.0 km away from the school in K- 6 and 2.0 km for 7-12) will be $250. Students who don’t qualify for provincial funding will pay a total fee of $550. An early registration discount is available for partially funded students.
• The per credit fee for Career and Technology Studies classes will go up by $1 per credit to $12 per credit.
• The fee for construction, fabrication and mechanics, prorated for 5 credits, will increase by $40 to a total fee of $120.
• The fee for a 5-credit foods class will be $80.

Also, at the latest meeting, Treasurer Nadeem Altaf provided the Board of Trustees with a quarterly financial update.

"Trustees heard the division is on track with budgeted expenditures at this time in the school year," according to Chinook's Edge.

Associate Superintendent Jason Drent also provided a technology update.

"The division is in the process of revitalizing its firewalls, formalizing its partnership with Canadian Rockies School Division, and finalizing the purchase of an Artificial Intelligence tool for teachers. It is exploring a digital newsletter format for schools."

The division has 12 schools in neighbouring communities, including Olds, Mountain View County, Didsbury and Carstairs. Chinook's Edge has a total of 11,000 students across 40 Central Alberta schools.

Last week, it was shared that the King Charles III Coronation Medal has been awarded to Kirk Wassmer. Wassmer retired in June 2024 after 23 years as a band teacher at Didsbury High School.

In his last year of teaching, Wassmer received a Prime Minister’s Award of Teaching Excellence, the Chinook’s Edge Roy E. Cope Award for a significant contribution to the educational welfare of students, and the I. Keith Mann / NAC Orchestra Outstanding Band Director Award.

Sign up to get the latest local news headlines delivered directly to your inbox every afternoon. 

Send your news tips, story ideas, pictures, and videos to news@discoverairdrie.com. You can also message and follow us on Twitter: @AIR1061FM. 

DiscoverAirdrie encourages you to get your news directly from your trusted source by bookmarking this page and downloading the DiscoverAirdrie app.