The hidden costs of a 'free' education

Face The State Staff Report

As the beginning of a new school year approaches, parents prepare to fork out hundreds of dollars in fees for their children's constitutionally guaranteed free public education. What many don't realize - and isn't always obvious - is that many fees charged by school districts are technically voluntary. Consequences for non-payment are also not always made clear.

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While some fees are easy to duck by avoiding costly classes or sports, many are tied to certain academic pursuits for which avoidance isn't a practical option. For instance, all sixth grade students enrolled in Jeffco Public Schools are scheduled to make a trip to the district's "outdoor lab" for environmental education. Students are assessed a $190 fee for the trip, plus an extra $9 to get them there and back. The fee is listed as "voluntary" on the district's fee guide, which states the trip "supports district content standards."

District policy states students will be supplied with "textbooks and instructional materials which are necessary for successful completion of courses of study approved as part of the District's curriculum." The policy goes on to say, "Students participating in enrichment activities which are not required may be assessed such charges as admission fees, food costs, and transportation costs of field trips."

Lynn Setzer, communications director for Jeffco Public Schools, said scholarships are available through the school and the district for the lab. "It is the intent that every sixth grader get to go," she said.

Students are also charged $3 plus transportation costs to attend the district's planetarium in Lakewood.

Besides fees for off-campus academic trips, schools also charge fees to pay for basic infrastructure such as school-based technology. In Jeffco, high school students are assessed a technology fee for "computer support," to pay for expenses such as printer toner and network upkeep. Though the fee is assessed on all students, Setzer says those who opt out can still use the school's computers. "We don't punish kids for not paying fees," she said.

Students are also be encouraged to pay fees that offer "discounts" to events but are only economical should a student make frequent use of a particular service. Jeffco's $25 "activity tickets" fee subsidizes sports programs, and in return students are offered a $2 discount on tickets to games, normally $5. For a student attending five or fewer games throughout the academic year, the fee offers no advantage over paying per event. For a student paying the fee, he or she would have to attend at least nine games to recoup their up-front expense.

Mark Stevens, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Education, said schools and districts have a “fair amount of discretion” when setting fees.

Students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, a federal government designation for poverty, have their fees automatically waived. Those who don’t qualify can end up owing their school any combination of fees, which differ school to school. Students are also charged for art supplies, workbooks and Advanced Placement course materials.

“I didn’t know school fees were voluntary,” said Jocelyn Armstrong, whose 9-year old daughter attends the Pine Lane Intermediate school in Douglas County.

Colorado law requires that all school fees collected be used for the expressed purpose and that districts keep a list of fees on file. It also says, “any publication listing fees shall clearly state whether the fee is mandatory or voluntary and specify the activity from the student will be excluded if it is not paid.”

High schools in particular employ measures to ensure that all fees are paid on time, including withholding basic services to students. Jeffco's Ralston Valley High School, for example, would withhold a student’s schedule until all their fees are paid. A recent change in Jeffco policy states schools may now only withhold a student's yearbook for non-payment of fees.

And while students cannot be turned away from school for refusing to pay, they can see their potential participation in extracurricular activities such as sports severely limited. The Ralston fee sheet lists hundreds of dollars of fees, and only at the bottom of the list and in small print does it say that "all" are voluntary. The district does not track how many students opt out.

School supplies are also a major cost for students and parents at the outset of a new academic year. Armstrong says she is bothered by the supply list her daughter receives every year, which sets her back an average of $120. The list includes “70 ct. spiral notebooks in the following colors: 2 red, 1 blue, 1 purple, 1 green, 1 yellow; 6 two-pocket folders with brads: 2 purple, 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 green, 1 blue.”

Supply lists often encourage specific brands and styles of common supplies to ensure homogeneity. Then, common consumables such as pencils are collected from students at the beginning of the year and combined in a common classroom supply.

“It is very specific about what you have to buy,” she said. “There are things on there I never had to buy. I’m a good trooper and I try to buy exactly what is on the list because I don’t want my daughter to go without.”