A Deep Dive Into KCI's Student Activity Fees

By: Chiamaka Emeadi

On the evening of January 17th, KCI hosted its first-ever Clubs Banquet; a chance for distinguished, high-achieving extracurricular members to be celebrated by their peers. The catch? Bring your student card. 

As the subject of common high school speculation, many might wonder: why do we have these cards, and why do we need them?  Armed with these questions and a thirst for knowledge, The Edge team delved deep into KCI’s student body to gain an assortment of perspectives.  

Naturally, one of our first stops was online, searching for regional or provincially-administered information to help us get to the bottom as to why activity fees exist and are paid. 

According to the Ontario Education Education Act, “While no student should be excluded from participating in any school activity or event based on the ability to pay… fees may be appropriate in cases where school boards or schools choose to offer enhancements or supplementary learning materials beyond the core curriculum.” 

The guidelines also mention the specific reasons for the fees, like yearbooks, extracurricular activities, and school dances, and the voluntary nature of the fees. 

Back at KCI’s main office, Ms. Poulin, KCI's activities secretary, further touched base on the school-specific initiatives sponsored by the funds. 

“On the board website [the activity fee] is for club materials, transportation, sports materials, stuff like that... Dance, decoration, so I think that’s the basis of it…” Poulin said. Despite having an idea of where their dues go, Raiders appear to have mixed feelings. 

Some, like Esther Timm, are supportive of them. Esther is a grade 12 student who participates in the KCI Business Club, KCI Music, and the KCI Swim Team. 

“I think [the student activity cards] are worth it,” she told The Edge. “I personally think [the price is worth it] because I’m involved in a lot of things, so I don’t feel that it’s unnecessary, but I could see someone who is involved in one thing thinking it's unnecessary. 

Esther added, “When you're paying for a sports team, you’re paying for amenities… it can be a little pricey when you’re paying for sports and the student activities cards, but the sports funding is for the sports and the activities funding is for the school. ”

Other students, like a grade 10 TAC member, aren’t in favour of the fees: “Why are we spending so much money to be in a club?” she asked. “For sports teams, I guess there’s transportation, equipment, jerseys, a lot of stuff. For regular teams, like clubs that are not sporty - I think that it's unnecessary and not really needed as much as sports teams.” 

The student also stressed the significance of the higher costs, specifically concerning Raiders from lower-income backgrounds; a question that has been hanging in the air for some time. 

“I don't think it's fair,” she stated. “They have to prioritize food and rent over sports, and even if they did really want to do sports… it's a lot of money. I get it… but I don’t get why it's so much.”

However, other students, like Mark Chinchilla, opted to remain on the fence. The grade 11 student currently participates in the Trivia Club, Swift Radio, Chess Club, and the D & D Club. 

“[The prices] could be a little bit cheaper. It kind of makes sense, but it kind of doesn’t,” he explained. “In my opinion, it’s a totally fair thing to pay off certain things in order to go to certain events…at the same events, you have to have your activity fee, and you have to buy a separate ticket, which also doesn’t make as much sense, as well. 

Once again, the issue of pricing emerged onto the centre stage. 

“It’s a fair thing,” he admitted, “but I think the prices could be a little bit cheaper, especially for lower-income people.” He added, “The activity fee, along with paying to be a sports team fee, it just adds up to too much.”

He suggested the Administration take a different approach: “I think you should either pay the activity fee, or you pay a sports team fee.”

Finally, The Edge spoke with Mr. Kline, who oversees the school’s Student Activities department. He emphasized the importance of school activities, as well as the time and work put into them: “We try to make our events as high quality as possible; the look, the decorations and feel of them, the prizes we give out, etc. so that they are engaging and fun for students. Clubs also need to have high quality, updated supplies and posters so that we can draw students into the experience.”

He also revealed a few of the realities faced by schools to find funding for various extracurriculars: “Unfortunately, there is no government funding for extracurricular activities, events, and/or the supplies we need to run them,” he said. “There are several clubs that do their own fundraising to enhance their club. When we host events and drama productions, funds generated go directly back into the programs we're running. Teams sometimes host tournaments to generate some funds as well.”  

With all this considered, would it be possible to find another way to fund KCI’s student activities? Mr. Kline doesn’t think this is possible. 

“Fees for sports are currently under review at the school board level, because the reality is that due to inflation, everything is more expensive from year to year,” Mr. Kline admitted. “We currently don't collect enough money to cover all the costs of athletics across the WRDSB. The Student Activity Fee at KCI is not currently under review; however, we are constantly monitoring whether we can cover all the costs associated with our clubs, events, supplies, and equipment.” 

Mr. Kline added, “Sometimes students shy away from joining because they can't afford the fee. That's why we constantly try to communicate that there is support for students in need. No one should shy away from joining, because we are able to support students with fees.”

The KCI secretary added, “We have a lot of options… where we do have financial assistance. If any student has any issue paying the activity fee, they should just go to the main office, speak to the VP Mr. Kline, and they’ll be able to talk something out.” 

Ultimately, it seems that Student Activity fees have more of an impact on the school’s finances than most realize. Mr. Kline informed The Edge that the Administration recently fixed some equipment in the main auditorium. They pooled funds from many years of Student Activity fees and ended up footing the staggering bill of $80,000. Without student Activity Fees, it is unclear whether or not the Raider community would thrive the way it does now. Mr. Kline concluded, “Everything connected to clubs, events, and sports that we see and experience at KCI, connects to the funds we need to run them.”