Schools Superintendent Sydney Cousin, worried that parents are asked to pay supply and activity fees that vary wildly from school to school, has placed a freeze on all requests to parents for such fees until the system can come up with a more uniform and equitable system.

Cousin ordered principals to immediately suspend all requests for fees and supplies about two weeks ago. Earlier in the year, he said, he created a group to study the issue following complaints from parents.

“We wanted to be sure there was some consistency, and more importantly, we wanted to be sure we weren’t asking for things the school system should be supplying,” Cousin said.

Cousin also took into consideration a situation in Montgomery County in which a group of parents is challenging the legality of school fees, although he said that was not the impetus for the review in Howard.

The review likely will have an impact on the system’s operating budget and potentially will lead officials to trim some items from school supply lists, Cousin said.

“Free and public education is what the state says we should be supplying and that’s what we’ll do,” Cousin said.

In the wake of Cousin’s decision, one Columbia parent said he’s heard grumbling among parents who feel they’re being “nickeled and dimed” by the schools for fees.

At the same time, a teacher at Oakland Mills High School said suspending student fees would cripple her ability to provide hands-on lessons in her culinary and nutrition classes.

In response to the challenge in Montgomery County, Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Kameen, principal counsel for the state Department of Education, cited a 1987 opinion from the state Attorney General’s office.

A copy of Kameen’s letter provided by state education officials quotes the 1987 opinion as stating “anything directly related to a school’s curriculum must be available to all without charge.”

With that in mind, a group of principals and curriculum coordinators in Howard County is in the midst of reviewing the supply lists and activity fees at each of the county’s 72 public schools, Chief Academic Officer Linda Wise said.

The group wants to better define what items are directly related to the curriculum, Wise said. Textbooks and supplemental reading material are the most obvious examples, she said, but the list likely would not include personal supplies such as pencils.

The group is expected to recommend new procedures by March 2009, in preparation for next school year.

“Whatever a parent’s contribution, it needs to be equitable throughout the county,” Wise said.

PTA Council president John Hannay said the council has not taken up the issue of activity fees formally, although there has been discussion among some parents who feel they’re being “nickeled and dimed” by the school system.

“I’ve heard informally among parents that there’s some inconsistency, and to some degree frustration that this kind of thing needs to be assessed and isn’t just part of a public education,” Hannay said, although he declined to offer a personal opinion on the matter.

A review of school supply lists and activity fees at schools that post the lists on their Web sites shows a wide range of fees and explanations of the fees.

At county elementary schools, the fee varies from $7.50 to $58, with most schools charging about $15. The fees typically cover the cost of crafts, magazine subscriptions and student planners.

Teachers union president Ann DeLacy said fees also are charged at the high school level, including lab fees for science classes and supply fees in art classes.

Because many teachers pay for some supplies out of their own wallets, DeLacy said she hopes the moratorium on supply and fee requests won’t add to teachers’ personal expenses.

“That’s one concern, but the greater concern is that our programs are enriched by the children and the fees they pay,” she said.

Oakland Mills High School teacher Zenoba Stephens said she charges students in her culinary science and food and nutrition classes a $40 fee for ingredients used in cooking exercises.

“We use this lab fee for food because my students cook at least two times a week,” she said.

If the fee were to be eliminated without a boost in funding from the school system, students would lose interest in the course because they wouldn’t be able to cook as frequently, Stephens said.

“Kids get in there because they want to cook and more importantly they want to eat,” she said. “Virtual cooking isn’t something they’re going to enjoy.”

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user comments (2)

user zakk says...

If the parents aren't paying for it, and the school year is already underway. Who picks up the bill for the Kleenex? Crayons? Pencils? Paper? Etc... The school is already underfunded (thanks O'Malley) and the teachers are underpaid. Now, my understanding is that the teachers will have to dig into their own pocket to buy necessary supplies. I know that teachers are given $300 a year to take care of all the supplies they will need for the school year. This includes teaching aids, and the educational stuff that they put on the walls. Why does Maryland keep screwing the teachers? Why does the NEA keep backing a political party that continues to screw their members?

Posted 1:11 PM, 10.20.08 | Permalink

user teachgiftedkids says...

Funny, that the fees were "suspended" more than 8 weeks into the school year. They have already been collected!!! The lawsuit had nothing to do with it, really? Wow, you could have fooled me. This may be a proactive first.

Posted 8:07 PM, 10.21.08 | Permalink