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It has been free for a while, so it might be a hard sell for some

Up to 94 per cent of students across the division were using the universal noon hour supervision program, according to Walter. He estimates that if 60 per cent of students pay to use the program, the division will reach its goal of finding around $300,000 in savings. However, those savings only represent about five per cent of the $6 million the division is looking for.

The division is willing to work with parents and guardians whose children need the program and feel they can’t afford it. There will also be a $200 cap per family, so if there are more than two kids in school, the most that family would pay is $200.

Walter said changes to universal noon hour supervision were looked at as a result of a $6-million provincial funding shortfall. The division also reduced nine office positions and has been looking at finding savings across all of its budget lines.

Walter said he expects tough budgets to be the norm for the next few years.

“There will be years where you feel like you can afford to do some things and years where you feel like you have to cut back. That’s the nature of budgeting,” said Walter.

Walter believes implementing the $100-per-year model is a reasonable solution, based on feedback the division received. As part of the consultation process, the division met with representatives from school community councils and posted a survey online for staff and parents. Walter said people were interested in keeping the program with a desire to have it equally accessible and 75 per cent of respondents were willing to pay $1 a day.

Cynthia Raby, president of the Henry Braun School Community Council, described the meeting as a brainstorming session and said that when the meeting was over, ideas were written on a whiteboard with no indication of what the division would decide to do.

“It has been free for a while, so it might be a hard sell for some,” said Raby.

Since her kids come home for lunch, the changes won’t affect her family. She said she hasn’t heard concern from other parents about the changes.