Facing continued budget pressures, Wild Rose School Division (WRSD) board of trustees has confirmed it will begin charging student transportation fees in the 2026-27 school year.

With the fees now in place, officials say no money will need to be allocated from other parts of the budget and students’ instruction is set to be fully funded next year.

WRSD superintendent Jodie Mattia says while the fees were a difficult decision, the board is pleased there will be no reductions in classroom-based supports.

The April 21 decision follows a period of public engagement, as parents and the community at large raised concerns such as the necessity of education in rural Alberta and the cost of the fees themselves. Others said parents in rural areas have no choice but to put their children on the bus and lack the options available to families in towns and cities.

WRSD superintendent Jodie Mattia speaking about parents’ concerns about new student transportation fees

Following a January motion that set a maximum of $300 per eligible student and $600 per additional-circumstance student, the division has released a breakdown of the fees. That includes $250 for partially funded students, and $500 for unfunded or “out of transportation area” students.

An important focus was flexibility for parents who now face the additional costs, Mattia says. A number of flexibility measures have been introduced, including an early-bird registration option allowing parents to save $50 for the full year if registered by June 5.

Additional flexibility measures include payment instalments. Mattia says she recognizes September is often a very expensive month for parents due to extracurricular registrations and back-to-school costs. Parents have until Feb. 1 to have the fees paid in full.

Parents with multiple children attending WRSD schools will also receive some relief. Partially funded families with three or more children will pay a maximum of $750 for the year. If registered under the early-bird option, that cost is reduced to $600.

According to the fee schedule, there will be no discount for children enrolled in the pre-kindergarten program, with fees set at $500 for the year.

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With student transportation fees now official for the 2026-2027 school year, WRSD superintendent Jodie Mattia says no funds will be allocated from student instruction

The fees were first introduced in January, when the division was projecting a transportation deficit of about $1 million in the current fiscal year.

Officials said increasing costs for parts and labour, along with the purchase of new buses and growing difficulty finding qualified drivers, were among the factors driving the budget pressures.

Mattia says parents who spoke during delegations expressed some level of understanding that school administrators today face difficult decisions.

“The dollars are what the dollars are,” she says.

The board also approved the 2026-27 school year calendar, which will see the year begin with a staggered start — some students will return Aug. 31, while others will return Sept. 1.