School fees and the common good

As the parent of a high school freshman, I was stunned to learn kids at Robbinsdale Armstrong High School must shell out a $200 fee to participate on an athletic team and $100 fee for an activity, such as chess club, debate or even the privilege of participating in a play. These fees don’t include any of the out of pocket expense for equipment, instruments or trips. So, if you’ve got a particularly athletic or musical child, it could easily cost you $600/year per child in fees alone. Should you have more than one child, do the math, it quickly adds up to a princely sum. Armstrong is not alone with student activity fees. These fees are increasingly commonplace in schools everywhere.

As one of five kids in my family growing up in Minneapolis, and attending the old Central High, fees for sports would have most certainly precluded my participation. As a shy kid with little confidence I needed encouragement, not discouragement. I’m thankful that “back in the day” my family didn’t have to pay for my cross country running, cross country skiing, or track. Like so many others, sports and music were highlights for me in high school, college, and beyond.

Don’t we want as many of our kids as possible to be involved with plays and sports after school, especially those who might not have many resources? With childhood obesity becoming epidemic rather than putting up road blocks with fees we should be doing all we can to encourage activity. While I know that there are scholarships for kids on reduced or free lunches, I’m certain many would not feel comfortable asking for such assistance.

User fees are a form of taxes for things that until recently we paid for collectively, understanding that we were supporting the common good. Some churches are now attaching fees for kids attending Sunday school and confirmation programs. Remember drivers education, that used to be included in public school? Not any longer, now students/parents better be prepared to shell out $350 or more for private lessons. Our belief in collectively contributing to the common good has been dramatically eroded.

I hope that we will reconsider this trend toward user fees and once again support young people's activities with our taxes. Let’s do all we can to encourage, not discourage, our kids healthy development. It is for our common good.

This blog is also posted at the MinnPost online newspaper.