Thoughts on Extra School Fees
I throw this out for your consideration without taking sides, at this point. The NY Times reported this morning about a lawsuit in California in which parents complain that they’re being hit with increasing fees for school-related activities. Sound familiar? The parents complain that the fees, for taking certain classes, for equipment, for course material, interfere with the right of their children to a free public education. Any thoughts?
By Charles Geilich
Sep. 10, 2010 | 11:21 am | 21 Comments | Comments RSS
21 comments to "Thoughts on Extra School Fees"
Maybe this information had been given before but I certainly don’t remember it. I went back through various e-mails etc and I don’t see anything about it. We paid a required $15 fee (I think to the PTA) during the team meeting last week (I wasn’t sure what that was for) and I went to Not Just Soccer like I was told and paid $23 for a jersey.
It doesn’t indicate exactly what the fee is used for but the cover letter does say “We will always be good stewards of our financial resources…”
I’m not saying it’s the school’s fault. I’m saying it’s really expensive to play a sport in HPISD.
In my experience, no.
I wrote a $300 check and then a $72/month check and got an email saying everyone was to sell $160 in raffle tickets or write a check for that amount. This was all a greater outlay than I expected for one course, taken to meet a graduation requirement. But I don’t doubt the fees are reasonable and necessary.
The $250 athletic fee was both unexpected and expensive. I sincerely hope that the funds go to help people who can’t pay. Maybe there is a way for the fee to be included in online registration if your child has signed up for athletics.
Maybe we could go to yellow buses like Jesuit instead of the luxury coach… always embarrassing to pull up in another school district.
The ACE fee is paid once a year and covers primarily bus transportation, but probably also the coaches stiphen, jerseys, equipment, etc. The fee is the same if you play one sport or multiple sports.
It should come as a surprise only to 7th grade parents that haven’t had older kids that play sports. Once you pay it in 7th grade, you know it’s coming the next year. They probably could do a better job of communicating but it was covered very well in the parent’s meeting for each of the sports. By that time though, your child has made the team and you are on the hook for it.
For many, playing sports in the school system is dramatically cheaper than what we’ve paid in previous years. If you add up all the fees paid for coaches, select teams, leagues, jerseys, even Y fees, paying $250 for potentially multiple sports and multiple seasons is a great deal.
GO SCOTS!
Look on the bright side, you don’t have to pay the $250. ACE fee.
I think one reason the district does not opt for the yellow buses is that most (or all) of the away games for 7/8 are in McKinney, Sherman and Denison. That would not be a pleasant trip to make with 150+ kids and no restroom facilities on the bus. If we were travelling to Jesuit or somewhere else equally close, the yellow bus would probably be fine.
kmom – Crew and LAX are club sports, not UIL school sports. Therefore, they are privately funded. However, those teams also have the ability to spend whatever they want, with no UIL restrictions. That’s probably why Crew travels to compete in the best regattas and LAX competes along the East Coast against the best teams. Those decisions are made entirely by the club/parents.
Crew advertisement over.
Uh, the facility is not air conditioned so I doubt it was blowing like a jet engine or even remotely cold. Bond election funded it, too. Kids played a scrimmage against Jesuit a few weeks ago, and, I have to admit, I’ve seen nicer, larger facilities in other districts. If you’re going to lecture, make sure you don’t tell falsehoods during your rant.
Jet engine sound was the giant fans…
Leave a Reply