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| PCMC Guideto Public School Fees |
Our wonderful school system, headed up by the eminent Superintendent Joshua Starr, insists that some fees are allowed - and he is going to be sure to collect!
The good news is that the number of fees at both the high school and middle school level seems to be decreasing since the Parents Coalition first started posting the lists.
However, at both the middle school and high school levels, some schools charge for dry cleaning band uniforms. What band uniforms? At my childrens' middle school (Frost) and high schools (Blair and RM), the kids wore their own clothing. They didn't wear anything that required dry cleaning by the school. And if you are really resourceful, once your family is done with the shirt, you can pass it along to another family!
Some bad news. Josh doesn't like the arts or tech ed courses. And if your child goes to Edison, be prepared to shell out major money.
The other high school with lots of fees - Einstein.
The big winners? Watkins Mill has only one fee; Kennedy doesn't have any. Frost MS doesn't list any - those Frost shirts really do live on and on and on. Maybe the Einstein principal should call the principals at Kennedy and Watkins Mill to find the secret to not shaking down kids for fees.
Here are the lists - you can see for yourselves what the various schools charge.
It's hardly uniform across the school system.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/31645241/2014-2015%20High%20School%20fees.pdf
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/31645241/2014-2015%20middle%20school%20fees.pdf
As usual, Mr. Tofig includes in the cover letter that all students will have full access to these courses, regardless of their circumstances. SO, if you want to make a donation to your school, go for it, but if you don't, remember your child is still entitled to full access, whatever that means.
The really bad news is that the Superintendent thinks that family money is unlimited. Is it really worthwhile to nickel and dime MoCo families for these fees? Probably not. And Dr. Starr still doesn't get the point that the folks in MoCo already pay taxes to fund the schools. Money doesn't grow on trees.
Whitman High School student news report on curricular fees in MCPS.
While still short of the Maryland State Constitution guarantee of a free public education, this list is much shorter than it was a few years ago. Thank You.
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