Circular 7/2008                                                                                      24 January 2008

Dear Parents

AMENDMENT OF PREVIOUS LEGISLATION CONCERNING THE PART PAYMENT OR COMPLETE EXEMPTION OF SCHOOL FEES

You are hereby informed by the principal and Governing Body that the contents and process of partial or total exemption has been amended by legislation and that a regulation has been published in the State Newspaper of 18 October 2006, volume 496.  A copy of this regulation is available at the school’s financial office.

1.                   SCHOOL FEES

At a budget meeting, which was held on 5 November 2007, the parents of the school decided that the school fees would be R7 250 per year for 2008.  This amount is payable in equal payments over a period of 10 months.  A once off payment of R6 700 may be paid if the full, annual payment is made before 28 February 2008.

2.                   ENFORCEMENT OF PAYMENT OF SCHOOL FEES

The school has not been classified as a “no fee threshold school” and school fees are therefore legally forcible.  Parents who do not qualify for exemption are responsible for payment of school fees in terms of article 39 of the South African School Act of 1996.  According to the terms of article 40 and 41 of the South African School Act the Governing Body may enforce this responsibility.

3.                   PROCEDURE FOR TOTAL OR PARTIAL EXEMPTION OF SCHOOL FEES

Parents who may qualify for partial or total exemption must consider the following:

To qualify for partial or total exemption the parents’ collective bruto, annual income (point 6.2 of the regulation) is used as the criterion.

The exemption form is obtainable at the financial office and must be completed and handed in personally at the financial office.

The Governing Body will process the information within 30 days after receipt of the application and a decision will be made according to prescribed tables (point 6.2(a) of the regulation).

Parents who make use of this option, have the right to discuss the information personally with the Governing Body or concerned committee, or name a representative to act on his/her behalf.

Once the decision has been taken regarding exemption, the Governing Body furthermore has the responsibility of communicating with the parent in writing within 7 days, stating the reasons for the decision.

If a parent does not qualify for exemption, he/she may appeal to the Head of Department (WCED) within 30 days of the Governing Body’s decision, for further consideration.

4.                   COMPLETION OF ADDENDUM A

According to the regulations of the above-mentioned, all parents are expected to complete Annexure A for each learner after the perusal of this script.  Learners must hand in completed Annexure A forms to the class teacher by Monday 28 January 2008.  A copy will be sent to the WCED and you will receive a copy.  The original copy will be filed at the school.  It is therefore imperative that the form should be completed and returned to the school as soon as possible.

5.                   APPRECIATION

The parent body is hereby thanked for their loyalty and support of the school.  The experience in the past serves as strong proof that our parents have accepted their financial responsibility for the sake of realizing the goals of the school.

Kind regards

J.C. Swart                     (Dr) F.C.R. Theron                                  D. du Toit

PRINCIPAL                   CHAIRMAN : GOVERNING BODY          TREASURER : GOVERNING BODY