Media Advisory

Councillor, MLA to Protest School Lunch Fees

(Tuesday, November 6/07)-- District 2 Councillor Krista Snow and local MLA Percy Paris plan to challenge the Halifax Regional School Board's lunch program.

The two plan to meet at Ash Lee Jefferson Elementary School, Fall River, on Thursday to walk seven-year-old Grade 2 student Hilarie Jones home for lunch.

The time frame for Hilarie's lunch period is as follows:

Lunch Break 11:15 am
15 min to eat then outside to play
11:50 back to class

Councillor Snow and Mr. Paris intend to walk home with Hilarie, make lunch, eat, then walk back to school in the time frame allotted. The walk is approximately two kilometres.

The action on Thursday is to demonstrate how the time allotted for children to go home for lunch is unreasonable. In addition, it is to protest against the school board's policy of charging parent's an annual fee to allow their child(ren) to remain at school for lunch.

Councillor Snow said "There are many problems with these fees. What if parents can't afford the fees? What are the safety implications of having kids walk up to 2.4 kilometres home for lunch in high-traffic areas? What about parents who work all day? What about parents who are opposed, on principle, to paying such fees in an education system that is supposed to be publicly funded?"

"Parents should not have to pay fees for their children to remain at school over the lunch hour. Let's keep our schools public and free." said MLA Percy Paris. ""Extra fees go against the principle of universal, taxpayer-funded public education. This is a principle the province must uphold -- and school boards must stop downloading fees onto parents."

When:   Thursday, November 8/07
Time:     11:15 a.m.
Where:  Ash Lee Jefferson Elementary School, Fall River

-30–

Councillor Krista Snow
476-7206

Percy Paris, MLA
860-4004