Fees for Great Falls Public Schools’ driver education classes will increase over the next few years.

The school board voted during their Dec. 11 meeting to approve increased fees for the course.

In 2020, the school board had voted to increase the fees from $150 to $200 over two school years, but traffic education was shut down during COVID.

When students were allowed to return to school and begin the course, the focus was on completing the current session and catching up a large pool of students with limited cars and instructors.

That increase approved in 2020 was never implemented, according to GFPS.

The district continued having one of the lowest cost driver education programs among the AA schools.

The fee for other districts is:

• Kalispell: $310
• Billings: $320
• Helena: $335
• Missoula: $340
• Bozeman: $365

With the increased costs of gas, maintenance, and salaries for teachers, the program loses money during each session, according to GFPS.

To ensure sufficient funds for repairs and instructor training, the school board voted to raise fees on the following schedule:

• January 2024 session: already advertised at $150; a note about future costs will be included.
• May/June/July session 2024: increase the class fee to $200
• January session 2025: increase to $225
• fall session 2025: increase to $250

The traffic education income comes from student fees and state reimbursements, according to the district.

Increases in costs have continued to outpace program income, according to the district, and as a result, at least $60 per student has been pulled form the reserve fund to cover maintenance and vehicle replacement costs.