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This is puplic school??

post #1 of 113
9/10/08 at 8:44pm
Thread Starter 
Oh My Goodness! I cant get over how much money I am spending on PUBLIC school classes. So far (6 days into the new school year) Ive spent, $50 on a ROTC field trip, $25 for cooking class get up (hat and shirt thing, apron?) $25 ROTC uniform rental, (this is new this year we didnt have to pay last year, and ds still has all his uniforms from last year) , Im sure something eles is coming the week isnt over yet.
cant cooking class just cook, why do they need a outfit?

This is for highschool
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post #2 of 113
9/10/08 at 9:10pm
I can empathize. My son took culinary arts in high school and needed the entire uniform... hat, jacket, apron, oh and non-slip shoes. I'm glad those days are over, and the upside is that he uses everything he learned in that vocational program to support himself now.
It does get better
post #3 of 113
9/10/08 at 9:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Garden~Lover View Post
Oh My Goodness! I cant get over how much money I am spending on PUBLIC school classes. So far (6 days into the new school year) Ive spent, $50 on a ROTC field trip, $25 for cooking class get up (hat and shirt thing, apron?) $25 ROTC uniform rental, (this is new this year we didnt have to pay last year, and ds still has all his uniforms from last year) , Im sure something eles is coming the week isnt over yet.
cant cooking class just cook, why do they need a outfit?

This is for highschool
Not to be unsympathetic, but isn't ROTC an optional program (i.e. if you don't want to particiapte, you don't have to pay)?
post #4 of 113
9/10/08 at 9:34pm
Thread Starter 
It is , he does want to go into the airforce after Highschool . I really cant tell him he cant do it. Yes I do understand he doesnt have to take it......

>>>>>I can empathize. My son took culinary arts in high school and needed the entire uniform... hat, jacket, apron, oh and non-slip shoes. I'm glad those days are over, and the upside is that he uses everything he learned in that vocational program to support himself now.
It does get better>>>

I know, Its just like a slap in the face. When the kids are picking out there courses the year before, they dont tell you that there are fee's to these courses. So the kids get their hearts set on somthing.
He has been in ROTC for 2 years and if he finishes 4 years he gets to enter at a higher rank.
post #5 of 113
9/10/08 at 9:42pm
If it's for a voc ed class they might be pushing for a sense of professionalism, especially if the class is one that they can continue on in after HS. I had students in phlebotomy class and nurse assistant classes who had to wear/but scrubs to be allowed into the program, and the same with a mechanic program.
post #6 of 113
9/10/08 at 10:25pm
The district that my parents live in just got sued and they lost the lawsuit, over student fees. They had been charging fees for stuff like play intermural sports, uniforms for PE, etc. Anyway, they now owe I think almost 500,000$ in fees that they are supposed to pay back to families for like the last 10 years. It is a logistical nightmare, plus of course, they don't have that much cash just sitting around.

It is really sad that schools have to charge the fees. When I was in HS I chose not to try out for dance team because I knew you have to buy almost 1000$ worth of crap if you made it (like 5 different uniforms + t-shirts, shorts, matching sneakers, etc etc). The line from the coach was that if you couldn't afford it she would give you access to whatever you wanted to sell (coupon books, chocolate bars, etc) to earn the money. thanks coach. I will earn 1000$ fast @50 cents a candy bar.
post #7 of 113
9/10/08 at 10:41pm
it is true... and just an fyi, a lot of that money doesn't go to the schools... I think a little bit of common sense needs to be injected, especially at the high school level.

Why does the drill team need matching bags and scrunchies?
Why does the chior have to pay 80 dollars in dress rental fees? It's just ridiculous.
post #8 of 113
9/10/08 at 10:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by KateKat View Post
Not to be unsympathetic, but isn't ROTC an optional program (i.e. if you don't want to particiapte, you don't have to pay)?
Bwahahaha, do you have teenagers? Sometimes, things that should be optional really are not if you want to have any peace in your life.
post #9 of 113
9/10/08 at 11:21pm
I feel for you. We have to pay too. In fact, we have to write checks to the 'public' school for basic school supplies.
post #10 of 113
9/11/08 at 12:13am
I can empathize, last week I paid $400 in school fees for my kiddos in public school.

But when it comes down to it, I do feel that I am ultimately responsible for my children's welfare and education. I have chosen to send them school and I think it's reasonable for me to pay for supplies and field trips. I understand that it doesn't seem like certain school activities are optional, because it would be incredibly difficult to say no to a child who wanted to participate. But OTOH I don't think it's fair to expect the taxpayers to foot the bill for extras, either.
post #11 of 113
9/11/08 at 5:34am
I just wouldn't pay it, they can't make you.
post #12 of 113
9/11/08 at 5:38am
Holy molley :
post #13 of 113
9/11/08 at 8:15am
Thread Starter 
I just wanted to throw this in there. I do encourage my kids to do stuff away from the normal school ,I hate to complain about it, I just wish I had known about it(the fees). LOL this is from one child, the other 2 havent brought anything home yet. Although dd wants to do band , which again is great, and thankfully the lessons are free, but the instrument rental is not.

Although highschool has changed a whole heck of alot since I was there. There is a bank in the school a DD, a police office , a store (no not your normal school store to sell pencils, this is a store that sells clothes)
LOL we live in a "small" city. Its crazy.
I dont remember things costing like this when I was in school.
post #14 of 113
9/11/08 at 8:21am
We did have to buy our gym uniforms in HS. And, they were hideous.

You have the gov't to thank for this. They have cut the $$ they give to the school districts, so they pass it in to the families. Our district does have a mandate, that is someone has a financial hardship, they can still participate at free or greatly reduced fees.
post #15 of 113
9/11/08 at 9:00am
If you're talking band, it isn't always just the instrument rental fee. It's uniform rental fee, uniform cleaning fee, shoes, gloves,plus this year a new one got tacked on - band instructional fee. Dance squad is probably the worst- they tell you up front that they are not funded by the school which translates into $$$$$. Also, no, they can't MAKE you pay it, but if you want to participate you either pay now, work out a payment plan, or show that you honestly can't afford . They do say that no one should be excluded because they cannot pay. It's just something you need to plan for when budgeting.
post #16 of 113
9/11/08 at 11:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Garden~Lover View Post
I just wanted to throw this in there. I do encourage my kids to do stuff away from the normal school ,I hate to complain about it, I just wish I had known about it(the fees).
I can completely understand this. It makes it difficult to afford those extras when communication between the school and home is lacking and you're not informed until the last minute that you will need to pay a fee.
post #17 of 113
9/11/08 at 11:42am
Yes, it sucks that you have to pay for it. However, learning to cook will benefit your kid a lot more in the long term than cheerleading or band, so I think $25 for that is pretty cheap.
post #18 of 113
9/11/08 at 11:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Garden~Lover View Post
I just wanted to throw this in there. I do encourage my kids to do stuff away from the normal school ,I hate to complain about it, I just wish I had known about it(the fees).
You can probably do something about that aspect- well, not for this year, but for next year and beyond. Talk to somebody in the school office about this- find out who's in charge of printing up the course catalogs. Suggest they include information about fees in course descriptions in the future.
post #19 of 113
9/11/08 at 1:39pm
I teach in a public high school. When the kids are working on schedules, they are given booklets and the fees are listed. 95% of those booklets are left lying around and never make it home.

Public schools are funded by state and local taxes. The feds might chip in token amounts, but by no means are federal funds the primary source. It is also not a federal responsibility to fund schools- it never has been. It has always been a state duty. One reason for the huge differences among states and school quality.
I know in our area, school taxes have to be approved every few years and of course most people simply vote no on taxes, therefore more is passed on to the parents because funding is cut. it is not always "the government" who is at fault. People don't always understand what they are voting for or against.

Also, nothing is free. we all pay for schooling in some way. In my state, we fund schools through sales tax. I tell my students that when they fail, they are wasting their own money. Every pair of designer shoes or CD helps pay for their own education- don't waste it.

Every school handles people who can't afford the fees differently. If you truly can't afford the fees, call the school counselor. I teach in a school with an incredible range of students from diverse socio economic abilities. The school can and will hold transcripts and schedules for not paying fees. However, if a family truly can't afford the fees, we have contingencies for that. Someone just has to ask for the help. We also give extensions to pay if the problem is simply one of everything at once. Most schools are willing to work with parents but communication is the key.
post #20 of 113
9/11/08 at 2:15pm
I'm going to offer a different perspective. If a high school kid (perhaps even junior high) wants to do an extracurricular, either through school or outside, and the family absolutely canNOT afford it, the kid is old enough to understand that if they want to do something, they need to come up with the fees.

A kid can babysit, be a mother's helper, do chores/yardwork (rake leaves, shovel snow, cut grass, weed, pick produce, etc.) for neighbors elderly and not. There are also paper routes (some communities have weekly newspapers that don't require a daily committment like a daily paper).

Friends of older kids report that the teenagers seem to have a more difficult time getting part-time jobs (it seems to me that adults are taking these jobs due to the tough economy), but a kid can still do the yard work/babysitting route. Problem is, many of the kids do NOT want to do the work. A couple who are empty nesters have a house with a not-huge yard. Their work schedules don't allow them as much time as they used to have for yard work. There are teenagers in their neighborhood. They've offered the grass cutting job to several of the teenagers - name your own price. The kids didn't want it - "too much work."