The Kamloops-Thompson School District will be getting $1.6 million from the provincial government’s $60-million back-to-school affordability fund that was announced last week.

Superintendent Rhonda Nixon tells NL News they’ll come up with a plan on how to distribute the money after consulting with both parents and staff.

“It will be used to alleviate costs that parents have for things like school supplies, food, extra curricular field trips, and to offset fees,” Nixon said.

“We will put out a plan for how to distribute those funds and school leaders gave us some help by naming the ways they feel they would be best to access the fund.”

Nixon expects that SD73 will have “a pretty detailed plan ready” by the next board meeting, which is scheduled for Sept. 12.

“We have a requirement to consult and we are pleased to do it but it does mean taking people’s time and so we’ve got that all booked and ready to go, and then shortly after that, we will know some of the tweaks and changes,” she said, noting the money should be ready to go out by the end of September, at the latest.

“It is just based on families who need and want this support, not just everybody gets the same amount. We do have a sense of who the families are, and I do believe that we will have a way of ensuring that if families are in need of support, that they will receive it.”

In addition to the $60 million, the B.C. government says another $3.8 million will be provided through the Federation of Independent School Associations (FISA) to support families that access education through independent school authorities who are struggling with increasing costs.