Provincial Education Minister David Eggen was in Sherwood Park today (August 30th) commemorating the start of the government's plan to reduce school fees for Alberta students.

"What we are reducing or eliminating is instructional supplies and materials," sasy Eggen, "We see that positively impacting about 600,000 students in our Province."

Eggen says they're also working on continuing to reduce transportation fees after eliminating fees for students who live more than 2.4km from their designated school.

The new rules for transportation however don't sit well with opposition MLAs who feel more needs to be done.

In a statement released today, the United Conservative Party say that parents have a short time to react to the transportation changes and that the Carbon Tax is costing schools millions of dollars more.

Last week, Rocky View Schools voted to raise their transportation fees to $280 due to deficits incurring from the elimination of the fees under Bill 1.

Eggen says the move to reduce more fees will be a process in the coming years and when it comes to the Carbon Tax on schools, he says it's all part of educating students on energy management.

"Any suggesstion by the Conservatives that energy efficiency and learning about those things is not something our kids should be doing then I find that to be a poor choice, both educationally and to save money as well."

The Alberta Liberals also criticized Bill 1 believeing the NDP snubbed alternative schools such as French Immersion from the fee exemption.

The Government had originally planned to roll out the fee program next year, but Eggen felt it was necessary to do this now.

"I could see a definable need for parents to see some releif in school fees...the economin downturn has affected a lot of people. We needed to move on this, I believe for the sake of making life more affordable for Alberta families."

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