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Some Montgomery County (web|news) parents are furious about extra fees associated with the upcoming school year, and voiced their anger at a school board hearing Thursday afternoon.
One fee that has parents asking questions is an $8.00 tab for a lightweight cloth-like towel required at Blair High School in Silver Spring. Parents say some of the fees, like the towel fee, are not only outrageous, but illegal.
Clarksburg High School leads the list of local high schools with more than 200 different fees, and parent, Rosanne Hurwitz,says the fees are "a form of educational extortion...."
"The art fees are probably some of the worst," said parent Louis Wilen, who added that "sometimes the materials are a little bit expensive, but that's just part of the cost of running a school system."
Parents upset over the extra fees this school year, made their feelings clear to county school board members. "Why is there a fee just for going to science [class]," one parent asked.
Officials say Blair High School students who don't pay the fees risk a penalty, but parents are pointing to a state law recently cited by Maryland's attorney general. The law states that "anything directly related to a schools curriculum must be available to all without charge.
The school system, however, insists there are exceptions. "There are certain fees that are allowable, mostly in categories like supplementary instructional materials," said Steve Simon of Montgomery County Public Schools. Simon also said that U.S. textbooks are always provided to students free of charge, and there are guidelines that dictate what fees are allowed.
School officials did say that Montgomery County Public Schools will provide the materials at no cost to any student who can't afford to pay for them.
with budget cuts going on in most school districts - i can see how parents have to pick up the tab. it is not the school's faulth. Blair has a large student body so if the majority of the parents pay up - the school should have what it needs to ensure that the kids have what the need. Parents should think about how much the teachers have to pay out of his/her own pockets for materials for THEIR kids!
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