(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
April 26, 2019 - 4:00 PM
VERNON - Vernon parents will be charged $25 for each child that takes the school bus come September.
The new charges were passed by the Vernon School District 22 board April 24. The $25 yearly charge is set to come into play at the beginning of the new school year this September.
School kids who are currently defined as courtesy riders will have their fees dropped to $200 per year from the current rate of $300.
Come September parents with more than three children will pay a maximum of $75 per year, while courtesy riders will pay a maximum of $600.
The school board introduced the $300 courtesy rider fee in September 2018, which was met with heavy criticism from the parents of those children. At the time the school board said the fees were introduced to cover a budget deficit largely caused the new Health Payroll Tax. Some parents reacted by asking why they were being lumped with the cost to cover the deficit, arguing the cost should be spread across the board to all parents.
The school district defines courtesy riders as children who live within 2.4 kilometres of their school or live outside of the catchment area of the school.
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