Catholic school divisions across Canada put a lot of time and effort into raising money so all students who want a Catholic education can have one, but none raised more than the Prince Albert Catholic School Division (PACSD).
The PACSD board announced on Friday that the division was taking home the Canadian Catholic School Trustees’ Association (CCSTA) Toonies for Tuition Trophy. The award recognizes the individual school board or division in the fully-funded provinces that raise the most money per capita based on FTE enrolment.
Education Director Lorel Trumier said everyone in the division deserves credit for their efforts.
“Thank you to all staff, students, families and friends of Catholic education for your support of this endeavour,” she said in a release. “Catholic education is worth it. A big thank you to recently retired trustee Albert Provost who has championed the cause since its inception.”
The CCSTA manages an Endowment Fund “Toonies for Tuition” fundraising campaign to support Catholic students across Canada that have no public funding for Catholic education.
Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon are the only provinces with Catholic education funding. Partial funding (approximately 50 per cent) occurs in Manitoba and British Columbia.
Meanwhile, Catholic schools in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, NL and Nunavut receive no government funding. Tuition, donations and fundraising are the only financial sources for families in some parts of Canada. The CCSTA Toonies for Tuition Endowment Fund helps alleviate these costs.
On Friday, the CCSTA named the Prince Albert Catholic School Division as the Toonies for Tuition Trophy challenge winner. The announcement was made at the CCSTA 2022 AGM /Convention which ended Friday.
“The secret to success stems from our students, staff and parent support,” long-serving PACSD trustee Pat Hordyski said. “Catholic Education is important to our families. Our Board would like to thank everyone for their generous donations for theToonie for Tuition Campaign. These donations ultimately help students across Canada access to faith-based Catholic education.”
Tuition funds are raised for operational costs and students in provinces that need to pay tuition to attend Catholic Schools in Canada. Since its inception, CCSTA has received more than 600 student requests for more than $1,250,000, and distributed more than $366,000 in tuition assistance. More information can be found on the Canadian Catholic School Trustees’ Association –Canadian Catholic School Trustees’ Association (ccsta.ca)website.
This year $5,534.30 was raised as reported by CFO Greg McEwen at the April 25, Regular Board Meeting.
Individually, St. Anne School raised $1,200, St. John raised $742, St. Michael raised $500, St. Catherine raised $400, St. Francis raised $343.30, Ecole St. Mary High School raised $750 and Holy Cross raised $1,150.
Support also came from across the division and from the board itself, with trustees donating $450.
Prince Albert Catholic previously won the trophy from 2011 to 2017. The province of Saskatchewan also won the provincial trophy from 2011 to 2017.
Michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
