Student Fees Burden Families

Revenue controls blamed for increases

It may be $16 for textbooks, $15 for art materials, $75 to participate in a school sport, or $320 for driver’s education. By the time a student (or a parent) pays all the extra fees of going to school this year, they may be hundreds of dollars in the hole.

As schools struggle with the financial impact of revenue controls, student fees are definitely on the increase, according to University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Business Professor Bambi Statz.

“We have become more dependent on student fees for day-to-day operation of our schools,” said Statz, a former assistant state superintendent of schools.

In the first five years of school district revenue controls, student fees have increased 40% to 50%, according to figures compiled by Statz (see box).

“The point is where it’s coming from, and it’s coming from parents and kids,” she said. “And that represents to me a whole issue of inequities for kids. Some kids are in families that can’t afford to pay these fees.”

Although districts will usually waive fees for families that identify themselves as unable to pay, that does not solve the problem, Statz said. Many families are not willing to fill out the required forms to declare themselves poor, she said.

“Secondly, a lot of families fall between free and reduced eligibility and affluence, and those families are not provided for,” Statz said. “They simply can’t afford to pay these fees over and over again, and kids don’t have equal access to that programming.”

Compounding the problem, she said, student fees are disproportionately high in poor districts. If students cannot pay the fees, the programs are cut.

“We’re determining programs on ability to pay, which disadvantages many kids throughout the state,” Statz said.

Statz said state law does not allow schools district to charge fees for required courses or courses credited toward graduation. However, there are gray areas, and some districts are fudging on the rules by charging for materials that are required for such courses. More and more districts also are charging “general fees,” she said, which is often vaguely defined.

In compiling her study, Statz reviewed surveys by the Madison Area School Business Officials and the Janesville School District. Some of the common fees cited in those surveys are:

• Activity passes ranged from $7.50 to $35.
• Athletic fees ranged from $2 to $60.
• Fees for individual classes, such as art, ranged from $2 to $25.
• Home economics and similar courses ranged from $5 to $15.
• Technical education course fees ranged from $3 to $20.
• Industrial arts-type courses ranged from $5 to $49.
• Driver’s education fees ranged from $30 to $300.
• Parking permits ranged from $1 to $80 per year.

Statz said the increase in student fees is “a direct assault on our state constitution, which requires a free public education.”

She said some students simply don’t sign up for courses that have fees because they know it would place a burden on their families.

“We have young people opting out of tremendous educational opportunities, and that’s not right,” Statz said.

• Resource page on school district revenue controls

Posted September 28, 1999