The Vernon School District wants to make sure students dealing with mental health issues have the services they need.
“We had a request from the Vernon Counselling Association because we have had a lot of serious incidents around mental health issues,” said district superintendent Joe Rogers. “We thought it would be an appropriate time to look into the counselling services we offer and if what we are doing is meeting the needs of our kids.”
The idea is to form a committee made up of both counsellors and school trustees to make sure the services are in place and that they are accessible to students.
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The district’s international program will continue to welcome students from around the world with no change in fees for the 2015-16 school year.
“Last year we added the activities fee because not all students want to do the same activities and it’s worked better in getting more kids involved,” said Rogers.
The activity fee for two semesters is $250 per student. Total cost for an international student to attend school in the district for two semesters — 10 months — is $22,500. The fee includes tuition, placement, homestay and medical insurance, as well as the activity fee.
Students also have the option of attending one of the district’s academies for an additional fee.
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Most elementary schools in the district offer school supplies to students for a nominal fee. School supplies are charged at $35 for kindergarten to Grade 3, and $40 for Grades 4 to 7.
Cherryville and Beairsto do not provide supplies, but provide supply lists through their web sites.
There are optional field trips with individual fees for each program, such as skiing and swimming, with costs varying depending on the trip and fundraising activities.
Workbooks are optional and supplied by the district but if a student wishes to purchase their own copy of a book there are costs incurred, from $25 for a History 12 book, to $41 for accounting.
Some students may want to use a certain work book but are not required to pay for it unless they want to take it home and write in it.
For clothing and textiles, industrial education and fine arts, basic supplies are provided but if students want to upgrade to higher quality materials, there is a cost recovery attached.
“In woodworking, we would provide materials such as pine but if you want to make a table out of oak, then you would have to pay for that.”
There is a payment and refund schedule in place for parents who have paid fees but leave the district before the school year has finished, and trustee Robert Lee expressed concern over the paper work and bookkeeping required to refund small amounts.
“I know it’s not a large amount but to some parents it is, so I think we have an obligation to return the money,” said acting secretary-treasurer Adrian Johnson.
