ETSB approves school fees class action settlement

During a special meeting held Tuesday evening, the Eastern Townships School Board (ETSB) adopted a resolution approving the terms of a settlement regarding the class action lawsuit filed against the province’s school boards for charging parents school fees beyond what is allowable in public schools according to the Education Act.

The suit covers eight years; the 200909 school year, until 2016.

All school boards involved in the lawsuit held similar meetings this week to either approve or reject the proposed settlement.

If majorities on both sides agree and the judge presiding over the case deems the settlement reasonable to both parties, then the process to pay parents of the roughly 925,000 students involved in the class action will move forward.

According to media reports, the amount of the proposed settlement is $153 million, breaking down to between $25 and $28 per student per year covered by the lawsuit.

Since the settlement is not yet official, Chairman Mike Murray could not confirm what the financial consequences would be for the ETSB.

“There seems to be a willingness on both sides to move ahead,” Murray said, explaining the board’s decision to approve the proposed settlement.

“It was a genuine nuisance lawsuit. It probably should never have happened,” commented Murray.

According to Murray, the Education Act, which limits permissible fees to writing tools and instruments on which they write, is not up to date with

The Massawippi Valley Health Centre hosted Héma-quebec blood donor clinic in front of the Ayer’s Cliff town hall on Wednesday. According to Beth Mcmillan, the chair of the clinic, the event was organized with a goal of signing up 35 people for donation appointments over the course of the afternoon and evening.

As of the clinic’s opening at 2 p.m.

modern education and the current needs in the classroom. It also doesn’t account for cultural enrichment activities, he said.

“It’s money taken away from education,” Murray said, “which is not exactly over-funded.”

As for the payout, Murray said the money will come from boards by appropriating surpluses, borrowing from the ministry or reorganizing budgets.

School boards currently have a lawsuit pending against insurers, Murray said, to hold them responsible regarding the class action lawsuit.

“We’re left in limbo until we get this settled,” Murray said, explaining that approving the settlement was in no way an admission of guilt. The ESTB simply wants to be able to prepare for next year knowing what is and isn’t allowed in terms of school fees.

The logistics of the settlement have yet to be worked out, Murray said.

The first step is for the majority of the 68 boards involved and the class action members, led by Saguenay parent Daisye Marcil, to agree to the settlement.

The judge hearing the case can then take an unlimited amount of time to approve the settlement.

Then the calculations begin, and will include the specifics about how to contact parents eligible for a payout and what proof will be required to make a claim.

When all is said and done, it will be a considerable amount of time before payments will reach parents, Murray said.

As for resolving the school supplies issue, Murray said it is now up to the education ministry to come up with guidelines for school boards to follow.

In September of 2017, Education Minister Sebastien Proulx asked boards to submit recommendations regarding school fees.

The school boards chose not participate.

According to Murray, the timeline provided (end of September to mid-december) was too short a timeline to do a proper study. He added that there was a concern that anything said could compromise the lawsuit.

“It’s money taken out of education one way or another,” Murray said, regarding the class action suit.

“The real penalties will be imposed on some student, somewhere, eventually.”