Catholic high schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia have been implementing activities fees for years. There are also sports fees that are separate from the activities fees. Oh, and also a school fee at the beginning of each year. From that perspective a $100 flat fee would be wonderful! I also think that reducing the coaches salaries a bit would be good for the budget. Coaches salaries in the Archdiocese are significantly lower than public schools.

To implement a fee across the board is not fair to those who aren't playing aports,etc...Fees should be based on participation,whether that is band,,football,soccer, etc...and perhaps then if a school fee is imposed,having participation fees places the burden mire equally

qdogPa:

One of the items proposed by the School DIstrict Budget and Finance Committee Task Force was to consider "user fees" on all extracurricular activities. I believe this is the sort of fee being discussed here...in other words, it is as you would prefer...not imposed on all students, only those who participate.

And so are we. But our kids go to Catholic High school and we pay fees for extra-curriculars. There is a fee for athletics and a separate fee for clubs, so a student in both a sport and a club must pay 2 fees. There also is no late bus after school. We use our own cars and gas to pick our kids up. When my kids went to public elementary school, it seemed like half the kids were driven to school anyway. The buses were never at full capacity. So I don't see a problem with a bus fee either because it seemed like a tremendous waste of gas. Please don't get me wrong, I don't think everything should come out of a parents or guardians pocket. I just think that every option should be considered. I don't want our taxes to go up again to pay for somebody else's kids to play a sport or be in a club. I didn't ask the taxpayers of the township to pay for our kids to participate in extra-curriculars and I guess I would like for the favor to be reciprocated.

I doubt a nominal fee for participation will cause anyone to drop out of a sports or music program...many private schools do this, and it is less then $100,

But it's extra-curriculars we are talking about here. Nobody is being asked to pay for books or pay a registration fee and a roster fee. I think this is a good place to start squabbling over how our money will be spent.

I would much rather pay a $100 fee for activities for my kids than have the activities cut. School should be a place where kids learn more than just academics - we have to encourage them to pursue all sorts of passions at that age. Parents make financial choices regarding their kids all the time. It costs that much for one season of little league baseball. As with the baseball, if a parent truly cannot afford it, they can opt out. Usually scholarship programs can be implemented for those who are truly in need and wish to explore the extra curriculars.

I don't think you can really compare the fees for public versus parochial schools. It's apples/oranges.

I do think an activity fee is worth considering, and they can certinaly waive it for needy families, like they do fees for other things at our UDSD elementary school. We have after school activities are the school for part of the year, and they charge for those.

Busing is more complicated. There are a lot of kids that get dropped off/picked up now at our elementary school, and it is a logisitical nighmare. The reason so many students rely on parents driving them is that there are no sidewalks in the neighborhood surrounding the school, and some of the roads are highly traveled. Considering how backed up it gets now, I can't imagine how much worse it would be if more people were to drive their children because of a bus fee. Also, since there is no public transportation (like in Philadelphia) are their laws regarding providing transport for kids more than a certain distance from their school? Can you legally charge for it?

Good points made by udresident and anonymous. There has to be an answer somewhere. Unfortunately, not everyone is going to like the answer. All avenues need to be explored.

This board has no idea on how to balance a budget. They do know how to change focus to the emotional things so we miss the big picture. We came into this year with a $7.5 million gap. With about $80 million in revenue a 9.5% deficit. So they increase taxes as much as possible, use a fund balance which they did not expect to have and we still have a $2.7 million gap. It just gets worse next year. Meanwhile the parents are talking about the $100 activity fee which will raise maybe $50,000. What do we di next year when the gao is bigger. Does this board expect to raise taxes every year? When does it stop? The Superintendent needs to go and business manager is in way over her head.

So how many teachers got cut?
How much was upper management willing to cut their salaries?.
Point is this is a diversionary tactic. Get everyone talking about an additional 50k or $100 to hit the citizens pocket that way they aren't focused on the tax increase or the out of control spending and salaries. Jezzzzz

Does it mak any sense to have some activities sponsored? For example local business(es) may sponsor the FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) to defray or eliminate costs. This is a form of promotion and advertising for the business, and also increases involvement in the school / educational process.
Clearly a slippery slope since I am not sure how to allocate sponsoring fees (as different clubs and sports have different costs and some generate revenue and others do not... etc.).
Just tossing the idea out there.

Dont blame the teachers for what they earn and benefits they receive..Blame the crackerjack compensation committee that GAVE it to them...

With all due respect to the Board, Ms. Brister (former Board member) commented on Monday that the Board agreed to a contract it could not pay for. She said it was bad for the taxpayers and bad for the teachers, since they are going to be laid off and reduced in hours. Mr. Chmielewski commented that the multiplier for Act 1 was 4.0% when they signed the contract and they didn't expect it to drop to 1.7%. The difference is the deficit in the budget. I can only conclude that the Board was going to fund the teacher's contract 100% with tax increases. Now does that make sense??? That is really odd thinking, and shows no stewardship of the taxpayer's money!!!

Isn't a big part of the problem the state surcharge for the pension? That is a huge amount of money.

Regardless of who's to blame, the question is 'what now.' The only budget item that will make a difference is teacher benefits, which is also a state issue. There is no reason for taxpayers to pay a full teacher salary when that teacher is retired and in Florida. Actually, I think it's a great gig and I'm jealous of a 10-month job that pays a full pension after 15 years. But in reality, it's time to stop. If the teachers have a problem with a 401K-type benefit, they are welcome to pursue a different career. But the current system will only bankrupt our schools (not only UD, by the way) and then they won't have a choice but to get another job.

That said, per-activity fees are fine. Little League baseball isn't free even though we pay taxes; same thing should apply to after school activities.

Your points are well taken, but why should I pay taxes so the kids can be in a club or a sport? Extra curricular activities are certainly needed to help a kid become well rounded, but having each family pay a nominal fee for those activities is not a bad thing. Try to think about it from another viewpoint. Maybe you are a senior on a fixed income or perhaps your children have graduated high school or they go to a different school entirely. Do you really want your tax dollars allocated to buying tee shirts for the ping pong club?(no offense ping pong club) Or any other club? I just don't understand what the problem is with pulling some cash out of your own pocket for an after school activity for your own child? Why is that some believe it's ok for their neighbor to also pay for their kids activity?

The board is not talking about the activity fee for just high school. What they said was across-the board activity fee $100 for hs, $75for ms and $50 for es, although I dont know what activities a
re offered at the elementary level that would warrant the fee.

At the elementary level, I think all of the activites, including assemblies, are covered by the PTO. And there is an afterschool program at some schools, for part of the year, with activities, that parents pay for.. The only activity related expense I can think of is busing to field trips?

My student pays $150 to be in the Upper Dublin Marching Band and $25 to be in the jazz band.

Some activities have always had participation fees.

You also pay to rent/buy an instrument.

Allthingsmatter, wow I had no idea band members paid a fee. Where is the money paid to...the school district or the band fund, if there is such a thing? Does this money go to a "booster" club type fund?
What is this money used for?

A problem with a "flat" activity fee is how make it apply fairly.

For example - If a student only participates in a club that meets only at school, should he/she pay the same as a sport/music activity that requires bus transportation?

A flat fee makes some activities subsidize other activities.

And should a student who pariticipates in 2 activities a year pay the same as a student who participates in 6 activities?

I'd rather see a flat fee.

The more you make it a pay-by-the-activity-fee, the more you increase the likelihood that parents/kids will elect not to participate in a given activity because of the cost. In terms of college applications, and just overall life experience, that puts wealthy kids at a real advantage that I don't personally think is appropriate when we are talking about public schools.

Again, if a family is financially disadvantaged, then I think the fee should be waived. (Which is what our elementary school does now for every dance, field trip or other activity.)

The district where I live has been charging an activity fee for two years now. The fee was $100 and now is $150. It is a flat fee per student, so if they do one or five activities the fee remains $150. The school exempts service clubs like Key Club, Leo Club, and music activities from the fee. My oldest child is in the school musical and I had to pay $150. My other child is trying out for a sports team and if she makes it I pay the fee. They also stopped all afterschool busing two years ago.

To clarify, because I can see how my comment seems to contradict itself, the school does not charge an activity fee for marching band or color guard, etc, but that is because those activities already require a lot of fundraising from the kids. The school musical is something that people have to pay to have their kid participate in.

Smdh, if the board passes this activity fee, I would expect my child to participate in any activity or sport he/she wanted. This could be a good thing. Say my child wanted to play a sport. Since I paid the fee I would expect my child to be a member of the team they might not have ordinarily made the cut. And if I'm paying I would expect my child to get some kind of playing time. If they don't, you better believe I will take a complaint straight to the school board and expect action. From the boards past history, we all know you will get results bypassing the AD and administration

Cards, that is ridiculous...On travel teams, you pay significantly more money then what the UDSD is planning, and you are NOT guaranteed siginificant playing time..I would assure you, the same would hold true at the HS level...i find it sad you believe because you pay a small fee, your child deserves "some kind of playing time" or you will complain to the school board...Talk about setting a bad example...

Cards raises a very good point. Does paying the flat fee guarantee acceptance into any and every activity offered by the school? And then, who gets the playing time, or the leadership positions to add to the college application? If everyone pays the same fee, how does everyone get the same opportunity?

Even if the fee is set per activity, then a student paying the fee will expect equal playing time/opportunity as everyone else.

It also speaks to the concern raised earlier that if parents pay a fee to the District, fund raising by the booster group will be hurt, since some/more parents will have the opinion that they already paid what was required.

Well, qdogPa also raises good points. I'd also be surprised if there is not a significant amount of whining about playing time on travel teams; but the teams deal with it as islands. The difference with travel teams is that they are solely player funded. If a family does like it, don't participate. A school district has the complication of tax money mixed with now individual fees. So it is similar, but different.

The problem becomes defining what the activity fee is for, and what it isn't for. What can be expected, and what can't.

However - let's say a student pays the activity solely because they want to play on the JV soccer team. Do they pay the fee before or after tryouts? Or they want a part in the musical, but don't get the part - when do they pay the fee?

From my knowledge, the fee is implented once teams are set,probably the same for play parts...FWIW, i think children playing on a travel team fully funded by players and their families would have a bigger axe to grind about paying time then a nominal fee on school teams...the fee coukd be used to defray equipment costs,hence everyone needs a uniform ,so PT is not involved

There is little to be gained and much to be lost by creating the activity fee. What happens to the student whose family can not afford it, is that child now not eligible? How many kids are on the free lunch program? A core value of public education is that every child be treated equally. In addition, while you may raise 50,000, how much will it cost to oversee the program? My guess is it will cost about ha;f that in administration costs. Like it or not we are in tough economic times, the empty office park and a recession nation wide is hitting home. While I can not thank the teachers and administration of this fine district enough for what they have done for my children, they too, like a significant portion of the workforce in this country has, need to take a pay cut.

I wish my daughter grows up to be a teacher, and have so much admiration for her teachers, however it is what it is, no job should be recession proof.

As previously noted, the fee could be waived for families that can't afford it. That is what happens with every fee activity at our school. No student is denied the opportunity to participate. I am not sure where that money comes from--PTO maybe? But it is there.

Well, I know where I live, you cannot pay the fee until you have been accepted into the activity. My daughter played a sport in middle school, after she made the team we had one week to submit our fee. It had no impact on playing time. She usually started, but some girls were bench players and they paid the same fee. Same for the musical my son is in now--fee was collected after the tryouts and the results were posted.

@udresident - How do you qualify who can afford 100 bucks vs who can't in a High School with that many kids without creating a administration job that will cost more then the 50 grand your trying to raise.....pay cuts across the board distributed evenly from custodial staff, bus drivers, teachers, and administrators is a better option. If everyone sacrificed a little, perhaps no one would lose a job at all.

Bill S. I'm with you. Across the board pay cuts seems the best option to resolve the problem..for now, since the bul
k of the debt is due to salaries and benefits.

Revising the current benefits,primarily the pension, will go a long way into alleviating the financial issues

card4ever
why should the bus drivers and custodial staff give up their last pay raise when the superintendent has said that the district will be outsourcing their jobs as soon as the contract is up.