Parents whose children are enrolled in the Delta School District will be paying another additional fee.
The district last week issued a notification that an annual emergency preparedness fee will be introduced starting this September.
The district notes that, to date, schools had organized the collection and maintenance of emergency supplies for their students, with some schools charging parents and caregivers a small fee for provisions, but other schools had their parent advisory committees raise the funds.
“Over the last two years, the district has reviewed what is in place at each school and determined that schools were in varying states of readiness for a large-scale incident, such as an earthquake. We believe there needs to be an equitable, centralized and coordinated approach to emergency preparedness. Ultimately, the aim is to ensure that all schools have what they need to care for students in the event of an incident that may require students to remain at school for up to 72 hours until they are picked up by their parents/caregivers and it is safe for them to return home,” the notification states.
The district added that it has used one-time funding from its budget to ensure all schools have the emergency provisions including food, water and first aid items.
“We anticipate that we have enough supplies to support all students for one day, two thirds of students for two days and one third of students for three days, recognizing that students will leave school and return to their families as soon as they are able to,” the district adds.
While schools have sufficient supplies for the time being, there is need to plan for the maintenance and replenishment, the school district also notes.
The $10 fee will be non-refundable.
