School is nearly out for the summer, and starting next year, it’ll be no more pencils, no more books for the parents of students at Rocky View Schools (RVS).
“It’s back to what we did before,” said Bruce Pettigrew, RVS board chair.
Pettigrew said the move back to board-provisioned supplies for RVS’ K-4 students, at an increased fee to parents, is a direct response to the consensus trustees are hearing from parents at board meetings.
The exact cost to parents is not known at this time.
“It’s a hassle, the parents have to go out and get these supplies,” Pettigrew said.
According to Pettigrew, the board changed their policy a few years ago and allowed parents to shop for their own supplies, but the feedback from teachers, parents and administrative staff has been a desire to go back to board-provisioned supplies.
The most common issue cited among parents is the unavailability of identical supplies at stores in their communities. Teachers and support staff also said the time needed to organize and store each student’s supplies at the beginning of a lesson would be better spent on learning.
RVS will purchase the supplies under an existing stationary contract.
Parents of students in grades 5 to 12 will still be responsible for buying supplies and RVS will post a list of those required supplies on its website by June 30.
