Parents will pay no more than $55 on school supplies for elementary students in September.
At the last school board meeting of the school year, Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school trustees set a schedule for student fees.
It noted that elementary schools use a variety of methods for acquiring school supplies, but the cost must not exceed $55 per year, including a planner, if is necessary.
District superintendent Sylvia Russell noted that students being required to supply printer paper to schools has been a frequent complaint, and it will be taken off school supply lists.
“Unless there is a bona fide student need, and not a school need,” she said.
Facial tissue is another item that should not appear on lists.
“I think we have rooms full of it.”
She said principals were consulted, and the $55 limit agreed upon.
Principals will post the school supply lists on the school website prior to June 30 of each year.
Secondary fees will be $28 for student fees, $50 for a yearbook and $6 for a lock.
Remuneration
Trustees also set their remuneration for the coming year, giving themselves a raise of $200, or 1.2 per cent.
That will be a raise to $19,232 from $19,032 for trustees.
The chairperson’s remuneration is set at $3,000 more, and the vice-chairperson at $1,500 more.
The raise is adjusted based on the rise in the Metro Vancouver Consumer Price Index.
Each trustee also receives an annual car allowance of $750 for in-district travel.
Each trustee will also have a budget of $3,600 per year for trustee professional development, which includes participation in conferences and workshops, membership in educational associations and access to educational books and journals.
The budget is carried over each year until the end of the trustees’ term of office, which can allow them to pay for opportunities that are more expensive than their annual allotment.
