photo by: Rochelle Valverde

The Lawrence school board discusses potential increases in school and technology fees as part of its meeting June 13, 2022.

The Lawrence school board began discussing the prospect of increasing school fees, including a proposal to add a new “device fee” that would cost some students up to $40, with the possibility of additional fees for damages.

The board discussed school fees and a potential device fee for computers and tablets as part of a work session on Monday, and received a report comparing Lawrence’s fees to other districts. Currently, basic school fees for elementary students are $112 and those for secondary students are $162, with additional fees for certain secondary courses and any extracurricular activities. The board will vote on any changes to school fees in July, and board members asked for additional information to help them make an informed decision.

When it came to basic school fees, which help support new textbooks, curriculum and class materials, Chief Academic Officer Patrick Kelly told the board that how much the district spends on new materials and whether additional costs are funded through fee increases or the district’s general fund is ultimately a board decision.

“I really do believe you have to set the budget for us and we’ve got to work within that budget, because you have a good idea of what the community is saying about the pain behind fees and the hardship that that causes for some families,” Kelly said.

Of the 10 school districts in the comparison, the Lawrence district had some of the highest school fees, but was one of only a few districts that did not charge a device fee in addition to school fees. The district also waives the basic school fee for students who qualify for free or reduced-priced meals. More specifically, the basic school fee for elementary students was the third highest among the 10 districts, behind Blue Valley and Tonganoxie, and the basic school fee for secondary students was the highest. Lawrence students also pay an additional $15 activity fee.

photo by: USD 497

A Lawrence school district table compares school fees for 10 districts. BMT stands for Books, Materials and Technology fees, or basic school fees. The table also indicates which districts charge an additional fee for devices such as laptops and tablets, as well as which districts offer fee waivers and reductions to students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The district has not increased its school fees since the 2003-2004 school year, and possibilities presented for the board’s consideration when it came to the basic school fee in particular included increasing school fees and/or course fees; charging reduced fees, as opposed to no fees at all, to students who qualify for reduced-priced lunches; and/or spending general fund dollars to support new curriculum purchases.

Board Vice President Shannon Kimball said she wasn’t sure which direction to go yet, and that it would be instructive to know whether districts charging less than Lawrence were taking money out of their general funds to help pay for their curriculum purchases. Other board members agreed.

“I think that’s an important consideration,” Kimball said.

Currently the district collects about $800,000 annually in fees while spending about $1 million on new curriculum materials. Board member Kay Emerson said it would be helpful to receive a recommendation from administrators regarding school fees.

When it came to the proposed device fees, Executive Director of Data and Technology Zach Conrad told the district that repair costs are going up, and that costs to repair Apple products — the district uses iPads and Macbooks — are more expensive. The district is proposing a device fee and/or device damage fees.

The district is proposing a $40 device fee for high school students, who are issued MacBooks, and a $30 fee for middle school students, who are issued iPads. Those fees would be waived for students who qualified for free lunch and reduced to $25 and $15, respectively, for students who qualify for reduced-price lunch.

Fees for damages would increase for each occurrence, and the district proposes they begin at $50 for high school students, before increasing to $100 and $850 for the second and third occurrence. The damage fee for middle school students would begin at $40, before increasing to $80 and $299 for the second and third occurrence. In both case, the fee for the third occurrence represents the cost of the device.

Some board members had concerns about the proposal for damage fees. Kimball shared concerns about the potential for students to be charged for regular wear and tear on devices, such as when a charging cable stops working, that should be the district’s responsibility. Board member Andrew Nussbaum shared concerns about the subjectively of how damage fees could be applied.

The board is scheduled to vote on school fees at its meeting on July 11.

In other business, the board received a report on the district’s Capital Outlay fund and its Capital Improvement Plan. The report provided a review of the fund along with a summary of capital fund project budgeting, including a look forward at allocations over the next three fiscal years, through 2024-2025.