School fee waived for displaced kids

Ontario schools are opening their doors to children from the southern United States displaced by Hurricane Katrina and it’s not costing their families a dime, Education Minister Gerard Kennedy said yesterday.

Already, at least 14 families from the affected areas have contacted as many as 12 boards of education, including those in Hamilton and Toronto, to inquire about enrolling their children.

“ Ontario will be welcoming to these families and these kids,” Kennedy told reporters.

“It’s already at 14 and that doesn’t include any of the GTA boards that may be acting on their own,” he said.

In fact, Toronto District School Board has enrolled five students already — three in secondary school and two in elementary.

Three children from New Orleans are to start school Monday in Hamilton, but the family, now staying with relatives, asked board officials to remain anonymous. Another family from Baton Rouge, with two children, is reportedly on its way to Hamilton.

Generally, foreign students wishing to attend Ontario schools are charged fees that can range from $ 7,000 to $ 10,000 a year. Kennedy told reporters the hurricane-displaced families, trying to put their lives back together, will be exempt from such fees because the province will reimburse boards for the costs of educating their children.

“ Whatever number it happens to be, this is a jurisdiction that will support the education of these kids in the time of their family’s crisis and we won’t worry whether or not their parents have the ability to pay,” he said.

Last spring, the government amended the Education Act to allow children of certain classes of temporary residents to attend school in Ontario without paying fees. The law provides the ability to respond quickly to events, such as disasters.

“ All the ones we know about are here because a relative in Ontario is providing them with a haven right now,” he said, adding that community groups are also marshalling support for these families, many of whom have been left with nothing.

School boards in London, Ottawa, Hamilton, York Region, Brockville and Simcoe County all reported they had had inquiries or had enrolled children of hurricane- displaced families. The York Catholic District School Board enrolled three elementary age students. “ We are admitting them on humanitarian grounds,” board spokesperson Chris Cable said.