Fees for public school? - Page 2

[bobandjess99]

We absolutely have school fees here, and NO, they don't have to let you go to school unless you pay them. The fee for dd's class (K) is $50, plus i spent another $25 or so on her list of required school supplies. Then of course i had to buy her clothes, shoes, etc. Kids who qualify for reduced/free lunch DO get a discount on their school/book fees, but it is about a 50% reduction - they do NOT get "free" fees. Fees range from about $35-120 here per year, depending on year, and in the higher grades, what courses you are taking. Elective courses might have additional fees on top of that, and extracurriculers or sports even more fees on top of that. They DO let you pay it in 4 installments though, so that is nice for some families. For example, dd's $50 fee can be split into 4 payments of $12.50 every 2 months, which is reasonable for basically any family.
After all that, you get the tshirt fees, school pic fees, fundraising stuff...but those are all optional.

[AngieB]

I'm in CA and we pay a bus fee and sometimes we have to pay for field trips but that is all. I can't believe that in some states you have to pay to enroll your child in public school....THAT'S JUST WRONG!:

[moondiapers]

Originally Posted by AngieB

I'm in CA and we pay a bus fee and sometimes we have to pay for field trips but that is all. I can't believe that in some states you have to pay to enroll your child in public school....THAT'S JUST WRONG!:

That depends on school district. When I went to school in Sonoma Valley we had to buy bus tickets, and the parents went to court because it was against ed-code to make us pay to ride the school bus.....but the school went back to charging again the next year and the parent group gave up the fight.

[amydidit]

Wow. I have never heard of a fee to register for public school. I thought those were illegal everywhere. Eek. We have to buy school supplies of course, and if DD takes any electives that have fees we pay those (or try). But to register? That just seems so wrong.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by l_olive

No, but you do have to provide proof of hardship in order to qualify for free or reduced fees -- just like lunches. In fact, I think it's the same paperwork, but I'm not positive of that.

Where we live there is a $25 per child fee for textbooks. The fee is waved for all children on free/reduced lunch program (no extra paper work).

I believe there is a way to request it be waved if you have hardship but don't qualify for free lunches.

And there's no penalty for not paying the fee. I forgot to pay it last year (really, truly just forgot) and they didn't even mention it for months. Then I paid. Not sure what would have happened if I hadn't.

[Madders]

My childrens school does not have a fee, but the highschool I went to did. It was $200, and it had to be paid by graduation so you had 4 years to pay on it.

[Polliwog]

Originally Posted by heatherbell

I frequently see our school corporation.

Your what?

[greenmom4]

We had a supply list to buy off of and then the first day of school we were charged an additional $25 for art project supplies or something. Kind of surprised me, too.

[pollyanna]

My town charges for buses. It isn't part of the 'free education' . $250 per child with a cap of 900/max so you have to have 4 kids in school to reach the cap. And if you don't pay you don't ride the bus. Most of the parents that can't pay or don't want to drop off or pick up their children.

Pollyanna

[Xpcting#3]

Indiana is awful when it comes to public school fees. We just paid over $100 for a Kindergartener's books/materials fee. My neighbors paid $500 for two students in high school. Public school - we've already paid for this with taxes, right?

[Viola]

I am 42 years old, and growing up in Virginia, we always had a book fee at the beginning of the year. It was something like $15, at least early on, it might have gotten up to $24 by high school. But if your family couldn't afford it, you could fill out the waiver which was included in the beginning of the year paperwork.

When I lived in So CA, I discovered the children had to pay if their families wanted them to ride the bus. Most kids didn't ride the bus, instead their parents drove them, but one family had 3 kids in 3 different schools, so had to pay for one of their children to ride the bus. I'm thinking their had to be a financial hardship waiver for that too.

My older daughter goes to public school, and has to pay a fee to her teacher for supplies, but it's not any kind of mandated fee that I can see. Each teacher has a different amount that they ask for, usually in the $15 to $20 range, and that goes towards the first field trip and an educational magazine subscription for each child. Plus there are school supplies that have to be purchased, including some for the class room. I imagine some parents don't pay it, but I know the teachers end up paying for a lot of these things themselves. I was planning on chipping in an extra $5 this year.

The bus seems to be free, however.

Kids do a lot of fundraising throughout the year. There are always things that the schools need, and there just isn't that much money to go around. The playground equipment was purchased with fundraising fees, and the art supplies are too--the art teachers work for free though, since they are parent volunteers. I think there is a basic kind of education that you will get with only taxpayer dollars, but I think with volunteers and fundraising, the kids get a better experience.

[LisainCalifornia]

I live in California, and do pay fees--but it is for these things:

100.00 yearbook (high school)
50.00 yearbook (jr. high)
60.00 phone book (this is a book that comes along with your membership to the PTA--and it has the phone numbers of all the parents and children so that your kids can have playdates. It is very helpful to have when your child says "I want to invite Elise over" but you don't have their number. You look in this book, and it is there, along with the kids names.

Hot Lunch program: 275.00 four days a week for the first semester. This is for my elementary school child. My Jr. High child wants hot lunch only 2 days, and we paid about 140.00 for Sept.-Dec.

High School sports fee: 260.00 to join (Cross country) 100.00 mandatory donation per family, and 200.00 to sell raffle tickets. If you sell them, you don't pay, if you don't--you owe it. Uniform: 100.00, 3 pairs of running shoes--not totaled, but you can guess.
Total cost for one fall season of cross country: 660.00


School bus: 320.00 per semester. We don't take it--I drive them

Field trips: Paid for throughout the year--varies, but usually about 200.00 per child for 3 kids.

[babymommy2]

I'm paying 100$ for kindergarten, this is for school supplies, field trips, cooking. Busing is free for K but a charge grade 1 and up. you can only get busing if you live in a neighborhood which has no school, or you are going for a special program and the school is far. busing is an entirely different fee from school fees. The supplies I have to provide myself are gym shoes, and extra set of clothing, and 1 box of kleenex

[Mirzam]

We pay $450 a year for field trips (field trips are an intrinsic part of the school's, curriculum so we have to pay it), $150 donation to the PTA, $10 for math and $10 for science (heaven knows what that is for), $20 for the PE uniform, $50 for the year book, $10 for the school directory, I am sure there is more.... So at least $700.

This is for my DD's middle school.

[ABrez]

I grew up in California and school provided everything. Paper, pencils, kleenex, everything. I usually got a new Trapper Keeper (flashback!) or some cool pink or purple paper (remember that!?) but it was all extra. When I moved to Ohio and I saw ginormous school supply lists that they were required to have I was floored.

I'm all for the government to stay out of my life... but.... when it comes to kids I think the government should make sure that they get an education. Children can't help what economic situation they are born into and they deserve an education just as much as the kid born to rich parents. Ya know?

And being a kid is tough enough without being labled 'the poor kid' on the first day of school because your mom couldn't afford to send you with three grocery bags full of supplies. Or here you go, Susie here's your school pictures. But you can't have your school pictures Joey, 'cause your mom didn't pay the school fees. How freakin' embarassing is that? No matter how tactful the teacher the kids are going to notice that. Geez.

[WC_hapamama]

Originally Posted by moondiapers

I just saw that you are in CA, you have nothing to worry about. School fees are illegal here.

The schools can ask for "donations" for supplies or class funds, but can't make them mandatory. That can't even penalize middle school/high school students for not being able to buy a PE uniform.

[muldey]

No fees here(northern ri).I think PTA membership is like $4,field trips I haven't paid more than $7.Yearbooks are around $12 for grade school,I'm not sure of middle school or high school.The fundraisers are ridiculous,we just don't participate.No one I know can afford to spend that kind of money.We have donated to the PTA instead,when we can.Bussing is free if you live a certain amount of miles from the school,no option to pay if you live closer.Ds gets busing even though we are close for medical reasons.I can't believe the fees some of you have to pay,there is no way I could afford that.

[Madders]

Originally Posted by uccomama

We pay $450 a year for field trips (field trips are an intrinsic part of the school's, curriculum so we have to pay it), $150 donation to the PTA, $10 for math and $10 for science (heaven knows what that is for), $20 for the PE uniform, $50 for the year book, $10 for the school directory, I am sure there is more.... So at least $700.

This is for my DD's middle school.

$450 for field trips? Is this a private school? I can not imagine all of the students attending a public school being able to afford this.

Our field trip fees are $1.

[Mirzam]

Originally Posted by Madders

$450 for field trips? Is this a private school? I can not imagine all of the students attending a public school being able to afford this.

Our field trip fees are $1.

This is a public school. The school has two big over night field trips a year, and many others during the year. The school is a "Choice" school and you need to open enroll to attend, so parents know what they are getting into finance-wise.

[LisainCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Madders

$450 for field trips? Is this a private school? I can not imagine all of the students attending a public school being able to afford this.

Our field trip fees are $1.

1.00 is amazing! Our typical fee for a fieldtrip (like to the Discovery Science Museum) is about 60.00. These trips happen throughout the year, and the letter is sent home with how much we owe about a week after each trip. I think my kids had about 7 field trips last year.

In 4th grade there is one overnight field trip, and the total is about 200.00. In 5th grade it is a 4 night trip to Santa Cruz science camp, and the total was about 500.00.

This is a public school in the bay area.

I grew up in California, and I don't remember my parents paying so much--so things have definitely changed. I remember I was in 7th grade when prop 13 passed, and that is when everything started getting cut from our schools.