People pay bills online and shop online, and soon, Tri-City parents will be able to pay school fees online, too.
School District 43 is implementing a new online accounting program next year that is expected to make handling money easier for clerks, teachers - and parents.
Called KEV, the new cash management system will give schools a better handle on their money, improve data collection and let parents pay for field trips and other school fees with a credit card instead of loose change or cheques.
Board chair Judy Shirra lauded the new system, which was approved by the previous board, because it will give time-strapped teachers and clerks a break, replacing the permission slips that go home and the endless counting and recording of money.
Still, some trustees were concerned that parents without access to computers wouldn't be able to use the system and their children wouldn't be able to go on field trips. "And they're the kids who need to go to the zoo the most," said Coquitlam Trustee Diane Sowden.
But she was told parents would still be able to pay cash or maybe even use a school computer to log in.
KEV works like PayPal or similar online payment systems but won't be in place until after the accounting system is already in place and only if schools want it.
It's likely parents would pay a small transaction fee to use it but the amount has not yet been worked out; meanwhile, the accounting program will be be rolled out starting early next year with two secondary schools getting it first and the rest later in the year in tandem with a new provincial student information system called MyEducationBC.
Some training costs will be required but the system isn't expected to cost more than the $20,000 cost of the current, more complicated accounting program, and could even cost less if a good deal on transaction fees is negotiated with the provider, said SD43 secretary treasurer Mark Ferrari.
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