Pay for play
I was disturbed to learn that public schools across the nation are increasingly asking families to pay for extracurricular activities and even academic classes amid budget shortfalls.
The Wall Street Journal reports on this growing trend:
Public schools across the country, struggling with cuts in state funding, rising personnel costs and lower tax revenues, are shifting costs to students and their parents by imposing or boosting fees for everything from enrolling in honors English to riding the bus.At high schools in several states, it can cost more than $200 just to walk in the door, thanks to registration fees, technology fees and unspecified "instructional fees."
The practice seems counter to our notion of a free public education. But as the story points out, families are willing to shell out extra costs reaching several thousands of dollars in some cases rather than lose out on opportunities such as sports and advanced classes. Some school administrators told the newspaper that these fees are good public policy, given that it's not fair to have every class and activity during penny-pinching times.
While I can understand the reasons for having these fees, it still doesn't sit right with me.
I rather pay for higher taxes in order to fund public education than to ask families to pay for things like track and band, which are pretty common activities that I would expect to be available for free to all students.
Understandable, not everyone feels the same way as I do. Asking everyone to share the burden of higher taxes is not fair either, especially in this still-struggling economy.
But what about moderate- and low-income families? Should their children be given less opportunities because they can't afford to pay to play in sports? Some schools do provide waivers, according to the article.
Here's an example of fees:
A 52% increase in some fees this year at the Blue Valley School District in Overland Park, Kan., means a typical high-school student now owes $235 at enrollment, plus supplies fees as high as $65 a class. The tab will be similar next year at Wheaton North High School in Wheaton, Ill., after a recent fee hike: $221 for baseline registration plus $150 per sport and class fees as high as $50 each.
Are there any schools in the region that charge similar fees? Have they gone up? How do you feel about them? Would you pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars a year for some classes and some sports when you also pay taxes to fund local schools?
