Living Sky School Division board members aren't happy about using their provincial funding to subsidize the cost of educating students for which the federal government is responsible.
The board of education has asked trustee Glenn Wouters to bring a motion to their next board meeting for presentation to the fall assembly of the Saskatchewan School Boards Association. If the resolution passes, the association will take on the issue with the provincial government.
Wouters, who brought the issue up at a meeting of the board with area Members of the Legislature recently, describes the current situation as the downloading of education costs of First Nations on-reserve students by the federal government onto the provincial level.
He said it costs the division far more than what it receives in federal tuition payments to educate its students and all it would take is one amendment to the provincial Education Act saying the cost of educating a student will be determined at the school they attend.
"I don't understand why the province wants to subsidize federal students," he said.
Wouters said the amount the division charges the federal government for on-reserve students attending its schools is based on a division average, which is not necessarily accurate, as set up by provincial policy.
"Fifteen years ago, it was done school by school," he said. "Connaught School costs more than Bready School because it's a community school. Because there are a lot of federal students in it, we charge them a rate far less than we charge the kids who aren't in Connaught. We continually subsidize the federal system by thousands of dollars."
He also said most schools in and around North Battleford are kindergarten to Grade 9, so their students end up coming to the North Battleford high school.
"We charge a tuition fee far less than what it costs to educate a child at the comprehensive high school. And we're satisfied with that?"
Wouters said, "This is getting ridiculous I remember when it happened and I know why it happened; there was a feeling First Nations people needed more supporting. But now we know the federal government is downloading the cost of education on to the province - and we just accept it."
Chief Financial Officer Lonny Darroch said there is currently no reconciliation process to ensure federal tuition fees are reflective of actual education costs. The people within the Ministry of Education have admitted it is a complicated issue and there are hopes that a long-term solution can be developed.
"For us a student is a student is a student. If they come to our doors, we'll try our best to educate them," said Darroch. "We shouldn't be worried about chasing the feds for money or the province for money."
