The North Vancouver School District could be on the hook for up to $600,000 after a class action lawsuit over summer school fees was recently settled.
The lawsuit was launched by parents in 2010 against 25 school districts, including North Vancouver, for the cost of summer school tuition fees charged for several years prior to 2007.
Prior to 2007, many school districts charged fees for summer courses. In 2007 they were ordered by the minister of education to stop charging for any summer school classes required for graduation.
In the class action suit, parents sued school districts for money paid for summer school courses before 2007.
In the case of North Vancouver, that will mean refunding fees for summer school classes in 2005 ad 2006.
"The school district intends to comply with the terms of the settlement approved by the court," said Victoria Miles, spokeswoman for the North Vancouver school district. "Provided that the claimants are verified in terms of meeting the settlement, then they will receive the compensation."
Franci Stratton, chair of the North Vancouver board of education, said the full amount the school district may have to pay hasn't been determined.
"We were looking at preliminary estimates for the North Vancouver school district of around $300,000 to $600,000, plus potentially a share of the legal costs," said Stratton, adding that those numbers are still preliminary estimates.
Miles said summer school fees ranged from $180 to $475.
The total of summer school fees paid over 2005 and 2006 was more than $726,000.
"The exposure really depends on the number of claims that are received and there is considerable variation in what that might be and then how many are actually at the end of the day verified as meeting the terms of the settlement," said Miles.
Courses eligible for partial refunds include core subjects for grades 8 through 11 such as math, science, and English. It also includes full credit courses, which count as credit towards graduation, for grades 10 through 12 including biology, physics and social studies.
Miles said the school district no longer charges fees for secondary review and completion or full credit courses.
"The settlement does not mean that the district agrees that the fees should not have been charged, but it has agreed to a settlement as a means of bringing this matter to a conclusion rather than prolonging a legal dispute," said Miles.
