Wisconsin Allowing School Districts to Charge $25.00 – $100.00 Registration Fees Per Student

27Mar
by Leticia Chavez-Garcia

In Wisconsin, a local school board has plans to charge a $25.00 registration fee per student. This  needs to be rejected and strongly denounced by everyone. I must remind everyone here what the premise of PUBLIC education is. Public schools are free education institutions of learning that are paid for with our tax dollars! Furthermore, K-12 education in the United States of America (home of the free) is mandated by law! Parents do not have an opt out option. A fee of $25.00 per student is outrageous and illegal.

Here’s what went out in the January 2017 :

“…In no particular order, all of the cuts that have been made over the different Board meetings are summarized below. The Board understands that the next step is the implementation of these cuts with as little impact to student learning and staff employment as possible.

#1 Fees – Reimplement a $25 registration fee for all students. In the event a family does not fill out a free-&-reduced application the fee would be $100. (Potential Revenue Approximately $7,500)…”

I read this story on The 74 in horror!  Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin is allowing school districts in his state to charge additional fees of $25.00 (and up to $100.00) as a way to increase revenue in cash strapped schools in rural Wisconsin.  The revenue this illegal surcharge will produce is a measly $7,500.00!

The state is aware of the prohibition of charging fees for schooling, but they are clearly looking to change that as evidenced by the state’s education website and its posing of the question and introduction to the idea.

State of Wisconsin website on school fees.  The information on the website clearly states that schools are to be free. The work around is apparently to call them registration fees.

The Wisconsin Constitution, Art X, Sec. 3 states:

“The legislature shall provide by law for the establishment of district schools … such schools shall be free and without charge for tuition to all children between the ages of 4 and 20 years…”

And for your illegally garnered $25.00, you get to send your child to a mediocre district.  According to the latest entry in Great Schools, they rank a 6 out 10.

Everyone should be concerned about these fees as it sets a very bad precedent for our public education system. Charging a registration fee on top of taxes that citizens already pay is ridiculous. This is something that I would hate to see happen in other states. I hope a parent or parents of the district will come forward and sue the district to prevent this plan from gaining traction.

What do you think?

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Leticia Chavez-Garcia

Leticia Chavez-Garcia is a Mother, Grandmother, former Middle School Teacher, former Member of a School Board of Education and an Education Advocate for hundreds of parents and students in the Inland Empire. Having become a mother at 15, Leticia knows what it’s like to be a single mother trying to navigate the education system. Leticia received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and Public Administration from California Baptist University and a Masters’ Degree in Education Technology from Cal State Fullerton in her 30’s. Leticia has used her knowledge and experience to help hundreds of families as an Education Advocate in the Inland Empire and currently works as an Education Specialist.

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