Blair HS and Lessons in Deficit Spending - Part 2 on Graduation Fees

From the MBHS Listserve - finally a breakdown of those pesky and illegal senior fees.

Note to Blair - the bus transportation is clearly optional and can cut down the assessment significantly. So are the flowers.

And, in case you are wondering, yes, in fact, the school administration admits that graduation is optional. These fees are not covered by the MCPS Curriculum Fees policy. Students don't have to pay, and if a student isn't "sponsored" by a generous member of the community, the student will not be able to attend.

Wow. 

Here is what the law says:

The Maryland State Constitution provides for a free public education.  Article VIII, Section I.   The Court of Appeals has said that it "means that schools must be open to all without expense." State of Maryland ex rel. Clark v. The Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, 87 Md. 643, 661 (1898).    

Even the US Supreme Court has weighed in:

"In this society, high school graduation is one of life's most significant occasions, and a student is not free to absent herself from the exercise in any real sense of the term "voluntary.""  Lee v. Weisman, 505 US 577 (1992). 

I don't see an exemption for Blair High School, do you?

Graduation MBHS March 12