Two sports academy programs offered at Mount Boucherie Secondary are going to cost students more.

The Central Okanagan Board of Education will be asked to sign off on the hairstylist and mountain biking academy programs鈥� proposed fee increases for the 2023-24 school year.

For the hairstylist academy, the fee increase will be from $850 to $950 per student, and for the mountain bike academy, the fee increase will be from $265 to $325.

The Education and student services committee has signed off on the fee increase requests and recommended adoption by the Board of education.

For the hairstylist academy, it marks the first fee increase since 2010 as program advisors have run out of options for how to overcome rising costs for supplies and hairstyling tools without passing some of that cost on to students.

The hairstylist academy is a 1,290-hour program offered to Grade 11 and 12 students across the district from September to August, based out of Mount Boucherie Secondary, giving participants an opportunity to step into an entry-level salon position and a head start to achieving their Red Seal trade certification.

To get that same qualified training outside of the school system through a private provider would cost up to $15,000.

School district superintendent/CEO Kevin Kaardal cited the hairstylist academy as an example of how such dual credit programs help keep students in school and have driven up the graduation rate for Central Okanagan students.

鈥淎s we have heard it also can save a student up to $14,000 on tuition costs so it and other dual credit programs can offer an incredible opportunity to learn a job trade or skill,鈥� Kaardal said.

For the mountain bike academy participants, the single largest cost is bus transportation from school to local outdoor racing courses, along with riding clothing and general supplies.

The student work on the maintenance of their own bikes, and do receive some sponsorship and bike donation support from local sponsors.

Students from Rutland Secondary, 脡cole Okanagan Mission and 脡cole 琉璃神社 Secondary also participate in the program, which provides both a step towards competing on the mountain biking circuit and finding employment at local bike shops.

Terry-Lee Beaudry, deputy school superintendent, repeated a message at the committee meeting she expressed in March when golf and hockey academy fees were increased, of the challenges of not making academy fees financially inaccessible for any student while managing the reality of rising costs due to inflation.

READ MORE: Fees rising for Central Okanagan school sports academies

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