Feb. 12--School District U46 fees for some middle school students enrolled in gifted programs will increase next school year, according to a plan voted into effect by the school board Monday night.
The district is expanding its gifted programs to all middle schools this fall. Current seventh-graders who wish to continue in the gifted program they started out in this year will be allowed to attend that program as eighth-graders, even if that program no longer falls within the confines of their home school due to the program's expansion.
But attending a gifted program away from the home school will cost $312 in student fees, according to the plan.
Students attending gifted programs at their home schools will pay $162.
District Chief Operating Officer Jeff King told the board the extra fee is to defray the cost of transporting students to another school site.
It costs $600 per pupil to transport students for gifted programs outside their attendance area, King said.
Board member Jeanette Ward said Monday that the gifted program flexibility came in response to community demand.
"The community expressed this desire," she said. "If you choose to go to a different school for a gifted program, then your fee is higher."
Otherwise, King said, fees will remain largely unchanged for 2016-17.
Half-day kindergarten will cost $48 annually, while the new full-day kindergarten will cost $96.
Student fees for grades one to six are $116, while the fees for middle-school instructional materials and per-sport athletic participation are $162 and $80, respectively.
At the high school level, the instructional fee will be $240, while driver's ed and its textbook will cost $325.
Per-sport athletics fees will be $150, and it will cost $200 to play football.
King said the fees don't come close to recapturing costs and that the funds are collected by the district and then distributed to schools for discretionary funds.
geoffz@tribpub.com
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