Dear Editor,
Dr. L and the School Board have instituted fees for participating in the music ensembles. If each ensemble has its own $60 fee this is going to get mighty expensive!
Let me break it down for you:
My daughter is involved in Marching Band, Brass Ensemble, Jazz Band, Percussion Ensemble, and Pep Band. Do the Math: $60 x 5 = $300 just for music. Add in Theatre, Spring Track, and Swim Team for another $180 and we’re up to $480 – this doesn’t even include the consumables fees I have to pay at the beginning of the year, nor does it include the incidental costs associated with each group like band camp ($350), instrument costs ($50 -$100), gloves ($3/pair), shoes ($35), uniform cleaning ($60), transportation costs ($??), track shoes ($95 - $145), warm ups ($150), swim suits ($60), and the fundraising imposed by each group. Basically, Dr. Lewis and the School Board have priced my daughter out of her activities. I can only imagine how financially unattainable this is going to be for families with two or three students involved in these activities.
My daughter is a senior and that privilege comes with even
more fees, if you can believe it! The
year starts with activity fees ($60), the consumables fees ($25) and the
parking fees ($100), which must be paid in order to get her schedule. Then there is the $100 for the yearbook
(It’s her senior year and she should be allowed to have this one.), the
graduation announcements ($75 - $100), the fee for the cap and gown ($25), the
SAT and ACT costs ($50 each), and the application fees for college ($50 each). The year finally ends with the fee for
the National Honor Society stole ($20) and bill from guidance for the
transcripts that were required by the colleges and scholarships to which she
applied ($2 each). Basically, I’ll
spend the year writing checks to FHS. I thought that this was a “free”
education paid for with my tax dollars. Yeah, I know - there’s no such thing as
a free lunch.
I have one more tidbit – It said in the paper that Dr. L is “implementing”
a $60 fee for swimming. Excuse me, but we have ALWAYS paid the activity fee for
Swimming. This is nothing new! I keep paying fees, but when I ask where money
goes, I can’t get an answer. They cash the checks, and the money just
disappears into a dark hole! It
certainly never ended up in the Marching Band or the Swim Team coffers.
1 comment:
second paragraph you forgot to omit Dr L's name.
And while I understand how this all affects your child, this might have more impact to the readers (if it gets in the paper) if it shows how it impacts all the families.
Does your school district publish it's budget? Ours does but I don't read it as it doesn't apply to my homeschooled child.
And since when do yearbooks cost $100??? Get some sponsors and knock the cost of that down. And $100 to park? When did they pave the parking lot with gold? Your fees are very high.
Post a Comment