Around the country, the economic downturn and state and local budget shortfalls are forcing some schools to charge students to participate in activities that used to be open to all, free of charge. Students are now being charged "pay for play" fees to participate in school sports, intramurals and band; parents are seeing fees increase for things like all-day kindergarten, for student parking passes and for Advanced Placement courses and books. Though education officials in the districts that have recently implemented such fees insist that they will help cover the extra costs for families that cannot afford it, many are worried that these increases will deter students from participating in school activities at all. Of course, such decisions are not unfamiliar to private and charter school officials who often have to make tough choices about where to spend, where to cut, and where to ask for parent and community help.
"Public schools piles on fees," by Anne Marie Chaker, Wall Street Journal, September 3, 2003