The Prince Albert Catholic School Division recently launched the SchoolCash Online system in the division.
The system is a new way for parents or staff to pay for school activities.
The board of education was updated on the launch by Chief Financial Officer Greg McEwen during their regular meeting on Monday.
SchoolCash Online is a web-based system that combines online payment options with school-based accounting.
Director of education Lorel Trumier said that the new concept mostly came about because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We know school divisions across the country offer the opportunity to have online payments made to the school and this has certainly moved that initiative forward for us,” Trumier said.
This system puts school-related fees online for purchase. The schools post their items and activities and assign relevant fees to students so that parents or guardians can make purchases online using credit cards or bank accounts.
The system also allows parents or guardians to keep track of school fees that require attention in the future or have been paid in the past.
“We know it is something that both our parents will appreciate from not having to go into the school to write a cheque for a school fee or something to that effect, they will be able to manage their payment to the school account from home or from work wherever they are completing that task,” Trumier said.
She explained that it will also support staff in reconciling the amounts each family owes.
“It becomes important when you have a family that’s more than one child in the school that it provides that opportunity to have all of that flow through a little bit easier, making it a little easier on our staff to manage those,” Trumier said.
According to McEwen during the meeting they are still in the rollout stage and staff is still being trained. During the meeting McEwen fielded questions on how to fix a double payment and said that it could be fixed through the school of origin.
She explained that parents are also still navigating the system. They plan to start slow with basic things like school fees, and potentially add other items in the future, like opportunities for hot lunches.
Trumier said it’s just another option for parents depending on their technological knowledge.
“There is still the good old fashioned way to come to the schools and pay the school fee at the school office, but this does give another option,” she explained. “Like I said, COVID really thrust us into assessing practices we were using and trying to move that forward in a way that would meet the needs of our parents and our staff combined.”
To register for SchoolCash Online parents can visit pacsd.schoolcashonline.com.
As of Jan. 17, there are 5.6 per cent of students in the division registered for the service.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
