Did you think that our new Superintendent of Schools, Josh Starr, would shake things up here in MoCo?
Did you think he might chart his own course?
Wrong. Looks like its more of the same old same old.
Our students are still not getting their constitutionally guaranteed free education again this year.
Here is the annual back to school fees list for high school students.
2012 Highschool Fees
And here is the back to school fee list for middle school students.
2012 Middle School Fees
Are the lists accurate? Readers will need to report back whether they were charged additional fees not on the list.
So - what is a parent to do, other than try to transfer their students into schools that charge less than others?
Ask for a waiver. Students are not supposed to be denied educational opportunities based on whether a fee is paid. If you do choose to pay a fee, consider it a donation.
Want to compare to last year's lists? Try here for high school and here for middle school.
Note to Emily and Mitch Rales - when you look over the lists, you will see that the majority of the fees are charged in the arts related classes. If you (or any other business person in MoCo) would like to help out students, perhaps you could adopt a school or a class on the list, and save Josh and his staff from having to beg for the payments.
Please also post the supplemental list of approved fees that would have been issued after July. There are other h.s. classes for which fees are being charged that didn't make this list.
ReplyDeletePlease give the name of the school and the course you are asking about. It's a big county. These fees are ILLEGAL, so it is really hard to document illegal activity. MCPS can lie on this list without concern.
DeleteThese fees are not authorized by the Maryland legislature and not approved by the Board of Education. They are flat out extortion. If you like being ripped off, pay them.
We do our best to educate the public, but if the public likes extortion then there is nothing we can do about illegal fees.
We have been documenting these fees for 5 years. And, in that time not a single public official has spoken out about this illegal practice. No BOE member, no member of the legislature, and certainly not the Attorney General or Governor. The State BOE investigated the fees, but did not issue a report. There is no sympathy in Maryland for extortion of parents in Montgomery County. If this were Baltimore City, you'd hear shouting from the rooftops.
Churchill no longer charges a dry cleaning fee for instrumental music.
ReplyDeletethey charge for AP tee shirts and parking on public street
DeleteIt looks like children who aspire to be artists, engineers, or musicians are being discriminated against; they are being charged illegal fees to pursue their interests in the public school. Where oh where are the music, art, and engineering teachers to speak out against these fines?
ReplyDeleteI don't know how the parking works but I don't believe the AP shirt fee is a school fee. My daughter never bought one.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, like so many school policies that are wrong, and likely illegal, it takes a lot of time before determinations are made to correct the situation. In the meantime, how do we protect our kids from repercussions, whether in the classroom or outside it? Note this recent school announcement:
ReplyDelete"You will not be permitted to purchase a homecoming dance ticket if you owe for course fees or financial obligations."
There is no "likely" about this. Course fees are flat out ILLEGAL in the state of Maryland. The Maryland Attorney General's office spoke to this in 2008.
DeleteThe law is being blatantly violated by the Montgomery County Board of Education and Administrators whose greed for slush funds is their primary focus. We KNOW the course fees collected in Montgomery County do NOT go into the MCPS Operating Budget! They are NOT accounted for in any legal manner. Why not? Because the fees ARE ILLEGAL!!!!! That's how extortion works.
Anyone ever get a RECEIPT for a course fee paid to a MCPS school? Of course, not! No one gets a receipt for an extortion payment!
What school sent out this announcement? Please forward to us. contact AT parentscoalitionmc.com
Thank you!
And, to answer your question, how do you protect kids? You protect them by standing up for them! You protect them by speaking out and not sitting by silently as adults abuse them.
Delete