Education minister still working on plan to cut school fees

Alberta parents won't get a break on school fees this year, despite the NDP's campaign promise to cut them in half.

Education Minister David Eggen said the government still plans to reduce them but he needs to gather information from each school district first before announcing a plan.

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"I need to find out who's charging what, when and where and then I can find that place to start reductions," he said.

Eggen said the feesvary wildly from board to board.He is interested in eliminating chargesfor learning materials like workbooks which are not optional.

"I need to find an equitable place to land on school fees but certainly we are committed to a school fee reduction program over time."

Eggen made the comments at a news conference on Tuesday where he touted the NDP's rollback of $103 million in education cuts made by the previous PC government.

In Edmonton, the Catholic school board was able to hire 41 new teachers. The public board was able to add 67 teachers and 51 support staff.

The Calgary Board of Education hired 114 new teachers and 79 support staff. The Calgary Catholic School District added 40 diverse learning teachers to work with high-needs students.