Montgomery County (web|news) students are starting school today, and many have paid for the privilege: the school district has introduced new classroom fees this year on everything from art supplies to science classes, drawing the ire of many local parents.

Student enrollment in Montgomery County this year is actually 1,000 students greater than originally expected, and the cost of fueling school buses is more than twice what it was just a few years ago.

The school district's budget has felt the strain of the high enrollment numbers and gas prices. The school board has prepared to shorten bus routes if administrators deem it necessary, thus leaving some students currently being bussed to school to make the daily trip on foot; some parents have expressed anger about the new busing proposals.

Another cost saving measure has drawn ire from local parents: the school board has imposed a regimen of new fees on the county's students. One parent said, "The art fees are some of the worst, $30, $40. Sometimes those materials are a little bit expensive, but that's just part of the cost of running a school system... I've seen science fees, just a $5 science fee. Why is there a fee just for going to science?"

Last week, parents upset about the fees made their feelings clear to the Montgomery County school board.

A less controversial and more welcome addition to the system is a plan to introduce interactive classroom technology in two-thirds of the county's secondary schools by December. New gadgets like "smart boards" are being incorporated into course curricula.

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