The Alpine School District is raising certain fees for students and is setting absolute maximum fees for extracurricular activities. Officials say the action actually protects schools and helps families.
School board members approved a new fee schedule for the 1995-96 school year by a 4-1 vote. That schedule establishes activity fees, textbook rental costs and library fines for students. Overall, 14 fees for students in grades seven to 12 were raised, and three others were created by the board's actions.At the same time, the new schedule also establishes absolute maximum amounts parents can spend on extracurricular activities like sports, cheerleading and orchestra and choir. Superintendent Steven Baugh said that limiting those amounts may even out the playing fields for parents.
"This provides a watchguard to ensure that parents indeed stay within those figures," Baugh said.
The board limited fees for off-season activities, like conditioning camps and competitions, to $250 per student in each organization or team he or she is in. The board also set $125 as the maximum families should pay for their students' participation in extracurricular sports and performing groups. Students currently pay a $25 fee for each extracurricular sport or group they participate in.
Baugh said funds collected from the school fees don't even come close to paying for many school programs, but they do "offset some of the costs involved."
But board member Linda Campbell opposed the new fee schedule, saying that the district is causing a hardship for families by raising the limits on many of the fees - especially on cheerleading outfits, which was raised from $300 to $400.
In addition, she said some existing fee limits, such as those for orchestra and choir uniforms or clothing, are already too high.
"I'm just not supportive of (the proposal)," Campbell said. "Our students don't
sing any better with a formal choir dress than they would in the choir robes."
Gary Keetch, the district's director of secondary schools, said the schedule protects schools because limiting the amount of fees parents pay also limits the amount of fees disadvantaged families can waive.
Last year, the district waived approximately $240,000 in fees for such families. Because the district loses significant funding through the waivers - it lost $130,000 last year in waived class fees - Alpine and its schools consequently have less money for programs and activities, Keetch said.
Even board members who approved the new schedule requested that Keetch and District Business Administrator Jack McKelvy prepare another detailed study on fees waived by the district, to see what schools and programs are being the hardest hit.
*****
Additional Information
Alpine School District fees
10th, 11th and 12th grades
Old fee New fee
Computer labs (English and business classes) $10 $15
Shop labs (includes safety equipment or clothing) $10 $15
Family participation fee limit $120 $125
Cheerleader uniforms $300 $400
Club dues none $20
Off-season activities fee limit (includes camps and none $250
competitions)
Ninth grade
Old fee New fee
Art labs $5 $10
Computer labs (English and business classes) $5 $10
Home economics labs $5 $10
Shop labs (includes safety equipment or clothing) $5 $10
Basketball participation fee $17 $25
Seventh and eighth grades
Old fee New fee
Art labs $5 $6
Business class $2 $4
Home economics lab $2 $4
Industrial technology lab $2 $4
Graphic calculator rental none $20
Other fees Old fee New fee
Community education (per hour of instruction) $3 $3.50